WHY I LOVE TO REFLECT & REVISE (IN BUSINESS & LIFE)
Am I the only one wondering where the first half of the year (plus) went?
Truth be told, I’m really tardy to the party on this month’s blog. Fortunately though, I’ve spent hours on personal and professional development this month so I am completely at peace with not being “perfect” and posting this blog late. Super late in fact. The beauty in this, is that I’ve had all-month long to gain insight as to what exactly I feel called to write about. So, again, this isn’t a fail – I gained clarity on what I wanted to write about.
A mentor of mine said that the coaching process we use in wellness is actually fail-safe. I love this message and the idea that any plan can actually be considered fail-proof. There is no failure when you are constantly learning, gathering information and using that information to inform future decision-making.
Rewind to earlier this month, and another idea smacked me in the face. O-M-G, July is the new January. All of a sudden, I felt like it was New Year’s all over again and it was GO TIME. It’s a fresh start and the time is now to make the magic happen. Fast forward a few weeks later, and I’ve settled down a bit. I now realize this is the ideal time to pause, get my bearings and, most importantly, to reflect and revise.
In health coaching, and in business, many of us subscribe to this idea of continuous improvement. What can I try/test? What can I learn? And how can I apply that learning without beating myself up or losing too much sleep over it. I like to say that your life gives you information all day long – what you do with that information is up to you. Why not learn what you can and carry on? (Note: It’s been my experience that this is way easier said than done, but I’m getting there one day at a time!)
So, as we head into the back half of the year, I invite you to reflect on the following:
What’s working and what isn’t?
What worked for you in the past?
What gets to stay and what gets to go?
What lifts you up and what weighs you down?
What brings you joy and what tends to steal it?
What’s needed now that wasn’t needed before?
What type of behavior is okay and what isn’t? #boundaries
What permission might you give yourself and others to practice more self-care?
What might you want to start, stop or continue based on your experience of it?
Use the answers to these prompts to gather information and insights around the direction you might want to explore personally, professionally or as part of your organizational wellness commitment. What might people need now that they didn’t before? Or, what has been revealed over the first 6 – 7 months of the year? As humans, we adapt despite the demands placed on us. But I wonder, how might we better support people in efforts to consistently drive better health and greater happiness? The opportunities are endless!
With this, I encourage all readers to pause, regroup, reflect and revise as needed to maximize the balance of this year into next. Life isn’t static, nor are we static creatures. We can choose differently at any point in time – let’s celebrate this!
Author: Katy Tombaugh