Holiday Reflection: A Gentle Invitation to Pause, Reflect, and Reset
While the holiday season is portrayed as joyful and full of togetherness, it can feel isolating for many who aren’t aligned with the expectations or are away from loved ones. Whether it’s Hanukkah, Yule, Christmas, or Kwanzaa, the holidays can bring a sense of doom, loss, shame, and loneliness that can be hard to move through.
Holiday Reflection During a Season That Feels Heavy
One way to combat this is to take some time to sit quietly and reflect on all that has happened throughout the year.
Focus on your accomplishments by flipping through your calendar and writing down all the things you did. Don’t worry about what didn’t get completed right now, just focus on everything you DID complete. Projects completed (no matter how they turned out, they got DONE!), events attended, Shift-Storms™ navigated, trips taken, people visited, etc.
Now sit for a while and soak all of that goodness in! Let your pride swell and your face smile with everything you’ve got! Do a little 10-Second Bootie Wiggle™ and celebrate your accomplishments!
Now, if your mind is jumping ahead to the “Yeah, but’s…”, take a moment to write those down on a separate sheet of paper. These thoughts go into the “want to improve” pile. We’ll deal with them in a moment. For now, allow yourself to feel good about what you did.
Making Space for Honest Holiday Reflection
Ok, done with the party? Awesome! Now let’s dig into those “Yeah, but’s…”
We all have those “Ah, sh-ugar!” moments where something didn’t go as well as we planned. Perhaps it all hit the fan and sprayed that sh-tuff all over the place. This is where reflection really comes into play. It’s time to really look at those moments and think about what we’d like to do better.
This could be how we act/react in our relationships. It could be how we make a project go smoother. It could be that we learned a little trick along the way and we don’t want to forget it the next time.
This is our sandbox playtime. We get to reassess and think about building our lives more intentionally, effectively, and efficiently. It’s a time we get to step back, look at the past year (how far we’ve come) and the year ahead (where we want to go) and start putting things in place to ensure we get there!
It’s like you’re creating the core objectives of a class, project, or event you want to take, do, or attend. It’s the syllabus of your year. What to expect so you know you’re on the right path, or you can find your way back if you get off track.
Holiday Reflection as a Guide, Not a Rulebook
By taking the time to get all of this out of your head and onto paper, you get to feel organized and confident about your journey forward. But remember…
As Winston Churchill said (and I’m paraphrasing), “Plans are useless, but planning is essential!”
This means that when you have a plan, you have a direction, a goal, a place you want to end up. But life has a way of throwing curveballs, so you can expect that plan to be challenged in strange and unexpected ways! Shift occurs!
BUT! As long as you have that direction, goal, place in mind, the plan can shift and morph. The plan is NOT set in stone, it’s just a gauge to keep you on track. A way to future cast, see the potential obstacles, create initial workarounds, and get yourself MOVING!
This is why reflection is SO important! You remind yourself of the tips and tricks you learned along the way, you improve your ability to pivot, and you show yourself that you are capable!
Gift yourself the best gift of the season, a moment of reflection and watch your next year become something amazing!
As this season unfolds, remember that reflection does not need to be loud or performative to be meaningful. Quiet moments of looking back, acknowledging what you’ve carried, and noticing what you’ve learned can bring a sense of peace that no holiday checklist ever could.
If you’d like gentle guidance to support this process, I’ve created a simple companion to help you reflect, celebrate what you’ve done, and look ahead with clarity. You can download the Wrapping Up Your Year guide and give yourself a supportive space to gather your thoughts, honor your journey, and step into the next year feeling grounded and whole.