What Lessons Can You Bring Into 2024 (Here Are Mine)

 The beginning of the year is often a time of resolutions, goals, and promises that are often abandoned within the first 30 days. For me, before I set goals for the year, it's important for me to evaluate my accomplishments and lessons. When I am able to see where I met or missed certain goals and why, it helps me to effectively move into the next year more powerfully. What I've found is that If I don't evaluate the lessons, I'm at risk for repeating the mistakes and living the same year all over again with very little progress.

So what lessons did you learn about yourself, your resistance, your strengths, and your blind spots this year? Here are a few of mine.

My impact is only as big as my connections. As a person who openly identifies as an introvert, I am prone to keeping a very small and unchanging circle of friends and colleagues. I noticed that over the past few years as I have begun to expand that circle (totally outside of my comfort zone) my reach and impact has grown exponentially. It seems obvious to some that the more connections, the bigger the impact. However, for me it wasn't about the number of connections, but rather WHO I was connecting with. There was a time that I didn't believe I belonged in some of the rooms in which I now comfortably sit and contribute. In 2024, I'm committing to massive growth in making BIG connections that will help me make an even bigger impact.

If I send out mixed messages, I'll get mixed responses. I must admit that one of the things I've struggled with this year is being clear about exactly the problem I solve. What I realized was that I was trying to solve too many problems. As an NLP trainer with expertise in psychological safety, trauma informed communication, there are several paths I could take to achieve impact. I could choose consulting, training, or coaching… I do all of those things. But what I realized is that I am a training and development specialist, and trauma informed communication and psychological safety is where I thrive. Furthermore, I'm a physician, and healthcare is where I belong. So whether it's certifying individuals to be trauma informed coaches or certifying organizations in trauma responsive communication, I know exactly where my pocket is.

I know what I know and I deserve to be in the rooms that I'm in. As I said earlier, There was a time where I didn't think I belonged in some of the rooms in which I now sit and contribute confidently and comfortably. For me, moving past this imposter experience simply took identifying the false beliefs I was carrying, and looking at the evidence that supported "I belong".

You must balance listening to others with listening to yourself. This one felt tricky to me. Transparently speaking, many people see in me a potential that I am still working to see in myself. That's not to say I lack confidence, it's simply that as a trailblacer, it can often feel like I'm speaking into a void. It's difficult to know your impact when you're at the forefront of many conversations and the response is often silence. This is where listening to others is valuable for me. It keeps me grounded in that what I am doing IS making a difference even if I don't see it yet. On the flip side, there are people who will sometime tell me I should dampen my voice, water down my message, and that doesn't feel aligned at all. In these moments I check in with myself to know what's best and follow my intuition.

Accountability partners are the key to true progress. My growth without question is largely due to having an accountability partner. She is my rock, my committed listener, and my "biz bestie". Over the last 3 years, my capacity to step outside of my comfort zone has dramatically increased by watching her do the same (and vice versa). If you don't have an accountability partner, get one immediately. Now one of the most recent things I've done is join a business program that is pushing me to a different level of accountability. The point is, accountability is key.

If I never take risks, I'll never make the impact I really want to make. More and more these days I'm taking risks I may have never taken 2 or 3 years ago. However, when I look at the mentors who are doing the things I want to be doing, what I see is them taking big risks. Now these risks are not uncalculated, they are well thought out and intentional. But with big risk comes the possibility of big reward.

These are some of the big lessons from 2023 that are sure to transform me in 2024. I'd love to hear yours. Comment and let me know what yours are.

I help coaches, healers and healthcare professionals get dramatic breakthroughs with their clients so they can help them get the results they want as well as ones they couldn't imagine. Are you interested in learning more? Visit www.mindremappingacademy.com/nlpcoachmastery and fill out an application to schedule a call with us today.