This week we celebrate the New Year of 2025. Are you reflecting on 2024 before flying into 2025? Why should you even bother to take the time to mull over the year?
To grow we need to reflect on where we have been, what we have experienced, and what we have learned from those experiences. In John C. Maxwell’s book, The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth, he writes about the Law of Reflection and states, “there are some kinds of growth that come to us only if we are willing to stop, pause, and allow the lesson to catch up with us.”1
Do you stop, pause, take a breath, and reflect? Are you learning from your experiences? Are you pouring your life into others? Are you enjoying time spent with loved ones and friends?
Before the end of this week, I recommend you sit down with your calendar, review 2024, and do the following:
- Write a list of what worked, what did not work, and ask why for both.
- Create a list of people who you impacted this year.
- Review the photos on your phone reflecting on where you have been, who you were with, and what the experience meant to you.
Why should you do this? Because this exercise causes us to be thankful for whom and what we have in life, and it contributes to our growth. Maxwell wrote, “When it comes time to reflect, make sure you’re looking back in a way that will help you move forward.”2
What action steps are you going to take in 2025 to improve yourself? Visit my website at www.fireofficerleadershipacademy.com or send an email to [email protected] to learn more about how I can help you develop as a legacy leader.
1John C. Maxwell, The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth (New York: Center Street, 2012), 51
