RC Blog January 2025
As the calendar flips to January and we step into 2025, we are greeted with a sense of restart and renewal – a clean slate, a fresh start. The transition from one year to the next offers a powerful reminder that change is inevitable and necessary for our own development and growth. Embracing this change, however, requires intentionality and reflection. It is not enough to let the calendar dictate the passage of time; we must take deliberate steps to evaluate where we are and where we want to go.
January is an ideal time to reflect on the past year and set a course for the months ahead. For me, this process begins with asking critical questions about 2024: What worked well? What didn’t (and why)? What lessons have I learned that I want to carry forward into 2025, and what habits or patterns am I ready to leave behind? Answering these questions helps me create a roadmap for embracing change with purpose and clarity.
Five Core Areas of Reflection
When I evaluate my year, I focus on five core areas of my life:
Personal Self-Care: How am I taking care of my body and mind? This includes prioritizing my physical health, taking care of me, managing stress, and maintaining a balance that sustains me daily. I have found as a mom, wife, grandmother, and CEO, I don’t always put myself first. But as the saying goes: “when mama ain’t happy, ain’t no one happy”. Placing a strong emphasis on self-care and love is essential to your successful personal life journey. Sometimes even if it means placing others in second or third place. Give yourself permission to be first.
Relationships: Continual evaluation of key relationships and influences you have around you is central. But even better is an annual reflection of key relationships, assuring you keep this practice central. Are the relationships in my life strengthening and supporting me? If not, where do I need to make pivots or set boundaries? I strive to nurture connections that add value and bring positivity to my life. Letting go of unhealthy or wasteful relationships is sometimes hard, especially if you are like me and never want to hurt or offend people. But the continual process of evaluating your relationships and creating meaningful change is necessary for growth. Also keep in mind in evaluating relationships you can use a three-tier system to categorize your relationships:
Tier 1 – Essential, close people I do life with consistently, who feed into my life, and who encourage me weekly and I in turn encourage and support them. We are 100% there for each other and hold each other accountable. I call these people “my tribe”.
Tier 2 – Other relationships and friendships that add value, but I might not be able to see weekly or even monthly, yet still stay close and see once a quarter or so to ensure the friendships are well rounded in my life and network.
Tier 3 – Acquaintances; people that know me, I know them, and I might see and celebrate once or twice a year.
Spiritual Self-Care: What is God calling me to do in this season? Listening, heeding, and acting on spiritual guidance is a cornerstone of my growth and direction. My spiritual journey is part of my DNA; without it I don’t thrive. Daily spiritual self-care is life-giving and assures that I have a present time approach with my Creator, God. My spiritual self-care consists of regular connection with the Lord through prayer, meditation, worship, and reading of the Bible. I also love listening to spiritual thought leaders such as John Maxell, Priscilla Shiver, and podcasts where I can connect with the message of my spiritual journey. I find when I am slammed busy and miss my morning “connect time” my day isn’t as productive, and I find myself in a place of frustration and irritation. In my car when I am stuck in traffic I also love listening to encouraging messages that build my spirit and soul, it certainly beats long traffic lines!
Career and Business Focus: How can I scale, grow, or strengthen my business? This includes fostering relationships with my managers, senior managers, team and clients, pursuing new opportunities, and staying aligned with my professional goals. This year in 2024 we had great growth and expansion of numerous clients. 2025 will be a scale-up year for us. Leveraging the talent in my company and what they bring to each and every engagement is a key ingredient to our secret for success. When people in my business feel valued and stay engaged with our vision and mission as well as centered around our values, we grow.
Personal Development: Where do I want to improve? Whether it’s enhancing a leadership skill, learning something new, or adopting better habits, I seek to identify specific areas where I can “be better” in the year ahead. In 2024 I started a new weekly habit with using yoga in addition to my regular Orange Theory routine. I found through the year that Yoga helped me keep calm and centered as well as develop key stills working my core. At 56 I am still in a state of looking at other ways to personally develop myself. Personal development for me is three-fold: 1) career (and business) development, 2) development in how I create community impact through LostGirl and my nonprofit LaunchPad, and 3) development in my marriage and my family circle. Each year I set at least 2-3 goals for personal development in each area and then ensure quarterly that I am tracking against the achievement of those goals.
Change Begins with You
The new year brings both promise and opportunity, but embracing change starts from within. By reflecting on our past, setting meaningful goals, and holding ourselves accountable, we can approach 2025 with a renewed sense of purpose and direction. Change is not something to fear – it is a catalyst for growth and transformation.
As we embark on this journey together, I encourage you to take time this January to evaluate your mind, body, and spirit. What steps can you take to embrace change and make 2025 your best year yet? Let’s hold ourselves to the high standard of not just dreaming but doing, not just planning but persevering. Together, we can make 2025 a year of meaningful progress and lasting impact.
Looking for guidance to help you “reset” in 2025? Check out Rebecca’s 12-week Reset You series from 2022, all great content with free workbooks to help you every step of the way.
And to stay in touch, be sure to subscribe to www.rebeccacontreras.com or find Rebecca on social media through Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
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