Ending 2023 Strong: Three Tips for a Successful Year End

Over the course of 2023, I have been working with a group of women leaders and making a concerted effort to get out and network more. This September, I decided that I would host a gathering; a gathering of my clients, partners, and some of the amazing women that I've met while networking. During our time together, I carved out a few minutes to share a few thoughts with them on how to end the year well. For this month's blog, I want to just share those same thoughts with you.

Tip 1: Thoughts Change Destiny & Conversations Change Lives

I have been thinking about this statement a lot these past few weeks. During our time together, I shared a story about my daughter and how she had a really frustrating situation where she had forgotten something and was beating herself up. We tried to fix it, but to no avail, and as the hours passed, it became increasingly frustrating until I finally said to her, "What's the worst that could happen?" As we talked through the issue, she realized that it really wasn't that bad and she could let it go.

As you're heading into the end of the year, sometimes it's the thoughts that we have, the pressure that we place on ourselves that cause us to feel like failures that can distract us and ruin relationships. Our thoughts will play a big role in how successful we are heading into the end of the year and so will our conversations.

The conversations that we're willing to have can change the rest of our year.

If you have a conversation or an issue with someone that keeps popping up again and again, consider if your greatest opportunity is actually just to sit down and have that conversation. And if you're not sure how to have the conversation, then get help. Talk to a friend, talk to a coach, or talk to a trusted colleague, and remember peace is a decision, not a destination.

Tip 2: Starting Again – A Powerful Choice

Tip number two actually came via a book that I'm reading, by Daniel H. Pink called  "When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing." One of the things that he writes about in the book is that science shows we achieve the best results when we start well, but there is also an advantage to begin when we give ourselves the grace to start again.  In life, we mark distance using certain landmarks. Our brains also use markers to navigate time called temporal landmarks.

In the book, he highlighted a group of researchers that studied eight and a half years' worth of Google searches. They found that the word "diet" soared 80% on January 1st. It also spiked after federal holidays, on the first day of the month, and the first day of the week, and birthdays. January 1 is a temporal landmark that people choose when they want to start again.

Similarly, we can choose to create mental landmarks. So if you're thinking about ending the year well, consider this idea of starting again. Maybe you are working on a project that isn’t going well, or maybe you have a relationship that's not going how you want it to. Can you give yourself the gift of saying, "On such and such a date, I'm just going to choose to start over"?

Businesses and organizations sometimes leverage anniversaries to mark a fresh start, and so can people. I was talking to a woman the other day who had the most traumatic year. I shared with her this concept of starting again, and right there on the call, she decided, “In a few weeks, I have a special day coming up. I'm going to start again.” 

Tip 3: Design Your Life Around Your Health and Not Your Health Around Your Life

Last but not least, design your life around your health, not your life around your health. I write a lot about tribes and how tribes impact our overall health and happiness. Loneliness and isolation actually increase our risk of mortality by an average of 29%. So when we choose to connect with others, that is one of the ways we can invest in our health.

However, as of this moment, you're probably focused on deadlines and projects and back-to-school, and all of the things that need to be completed before December 31, 2023, rolls around. Sometimes, when we're in this heightened state of busyness, we tend to forget to set aside time for eating, sleeping, and exercising. When we're healthy, put good food in our bodies, get enough sleep, and exercise, we increase the likelihood that we can work and live optimally. Life has its way of taking over and distracting us from being able to give our best. As you head into the end of the year, one of the best gifts you can give yourself is the gift of self-care. Remember that no matter what, you deserve and have the power to end the year well. Wishing you a successful end to your 2023! 
 

Meet The Author Leah JM Dean is a people strategy & executive recruitment advisor, coach, speaker, author of the best-selling book, Assemble the Tribe, and founder of the women's leadership program, the Tribe Advantage. She is on a mission to help women and organizations all across the globe transform their tribes in life and leadership. To learn more about Leah's work, her best-selling book Assemble the Tribe visit www.leahjmdean.com. To join the waitlist for The Tribe Advantage Leadership Program, visit www.thetribeadvange.com Leah lives in Bermuda with her husband and two children.