5 Important End of the Year Reminders You Need to Hear
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Did you not accomplish what you wanted to this year? Are you beating yourself up about and calling yourself a failure?
The end of the year is coming up and I know for many of us, it magnifies the fact that we are not where we thought we would be. We feel frustrated we didn’t accomplish what we said we would or we didn’t get to where we wanted to be. I know this can be extremely discouraging, frustrating, and puts a damper on our self-esteem.
That’s why I wanted to share a few reminders with you to help you look at what you “didn’t accomplish” in a different light and help you change your mindset so you keep pushing forward.
Episodes mentioned:
Episode 86: 7 Steps to Setting (And Actually Reaching) Your Goals.
TRANSCRIPT:
Hey, they're beautiful human. You're listening to Embrace Your Real with me, Julie Ledbetter, a podcast where I empower you to just be you. With each episode, I dish you a dose of real talk and actionable advice for building your confidence, honoring your body and unconditionally loving your authentic self. Stay tuned if you're ready to embrace your real. Let's get in and let's go.
Welcome back to another episode. The end of the year is coming, and I know for many of us it magnifies the fact that we are not where we thought we would be. We might feel frustrated we didn't accomplish what we said we would, or we are not where we thought we would be. And I know that that can be extremely disheartening, frustrating, and it can even put a damper on our self-esteem. So that's why in this episode, I wanted to share with you a few reminders as to how you can look at what you didn't accomplish in a different light to help you change your mindset so you can keep pushing forward.
But before we dive into today's episode, I wanted to share this super sweet review. It comes from Meg1193. She says, "Much needed. Julie, I love your podcast. You are always a blessing to me and I love your upbeat attitude. Today, I was feeling pretty down about some things that have happened to me this week. So I thought that I would listen to a podcast to get my mind off of my circumstances. When I opened up the podcast app, I decided to click on When Things Don't Go Your Way episode from Wednesday, episode 184." For those of you guys who need to tune into that episode, she says, "Good grief. It is exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you for your podcast. And thank you for always providing encouraging truth from the Bible. I'm so happy that I found you." Meg, thank you so much for this review. I sincerely appreciate it.
If you guys have not already left a review, I just encourage you to do so. It truly does help the podcast out more than you know. So you can go to Apple Podcasts, type in Embrace Your Real and leave a rating and review. Also, if you have not tuned into episode 184, When Things Don't Go Your Way, I want to encourage you to tune into that episode. I will go ahead and link it in the show notes below after this episode so that you can easily go listen. But that episode you guys, I believe will truly help you change your perspective.
Okay, so if you are not where you thought you would be by this time of the year, and you're feeling frustrated, discouraged, angry, or whatever it may be, I have five reminders for you.
Reminder number one. Just because you didn't accomplish what you wanted to this year does not mean that you failed. Let me repeat that. That does not mean that are a failure. This could mean that maybe it wasn't the right time for you to accomplish this, that you had other things that you prioritized more or that things were more important to you. Or maybe you need more time. Or maybe it's a sign that that is not the direction that your life needs to go right now. And that you accomplished other things and you can't do it all at one time. There are so many things that this could mean, except the fact that you are a failure. I need you to get that out of your head right now, because you are not a failure. This simply means that this could possibly just not be the right time. So please, please, please remember that maybe you didn't accomplish it this year because maybe it's not meant to be right now.
Reminder number two. You need to zoom out and look at the bigger picture. If you think you're a failure, you need to zoom out. Just because you didn't accomplish this one thing doesn't mean that you didn't accomplish anything. We get hyper focused, whether that be the weight that we wanted to lose, or the baby we wanted to have, or the promotion we wanted to get or whatever it is that you had your eyes set on. Because one thing didn't happen, that doesn't mean that you failed. Just because that one thing maybe did not get accomplished, I can guarantee that this year was full of so many other things.
So I want to encourage you to pause, zoom out and look at every other aspect of your life. I need you to look at the progress that you made personally, the progress that you made relationally, the progress that you made financially, or spiritually, or professionally, or physically, or mentally, or emotionally. There are so many aspects of our life that we overlook. But once we break it down and actually examine it, we see that we did in fact make way more progress than we thought. So please don't let that one thing that you hoped you would have accomplished by now discredit everything else that you did accomplish this year.
Reminder number three. Just because you didn't accomplish it this year does not mean that you need to give up. Just because you didn't lose the weight, or get the promotion, or buy the house, or move to the city, or whatever the goal was that you had this year, that does not mean that you can't continue to work towards it next year. Just because it didn't happen this year doesn't mean it won't happen ever. It can be your goal again. That's okay. Just because the calendar year is ending doesn't mean working towards your goal should end too.
Again, maybe the time wasn't right this year, maybe you were not in the right head space, or maybe you were not quite ready mentally this year. But maybe next year will be different. Maybe next year will be the time that is right. Maybe next year is the time that you will be in the right head space. Remember that you didn't fail, you just need more time. So I want to encourage you to keep going. Don't give up. If it's a serious goal of yours, don't let the end of the calendar year discourage you from stopping to achieve the goal at all. That truly does not mean anything.
Reminder number four. You need to stop wishing and start doing. I have found that so many of us, myself included, just wish for things. We say something is our goal. We say we want this. We say we want to do that. We say we want that to happen, but yet don't change anything in our lives that will actually make it happen. If we do not take action, we need to ask ourselves how badly do we want to accomplish it? If we actually wanted it wouldn't we have prioritized it? If we actually wanted to do it, then we need to start doing something to accomplish it. Wishing has never gotten anyone anywhere, but doing has. Accomplishing goals takes action. Without action, we can't be mad we didn't accomplish anything. I know that that's tough love, but it's the truth. So be honest with yourself and ask yourself, have I just been wishing for this or have I been committed to doing it?
Which leads me to my last reminder. Reminder number five. You need to reflect on why you didn't reach your goals and figure out a new plan. With everything I've said in this episode, we still need to be realistic about why we didn't reach the goal that we set out to reach. We need to reflect on why we didn't reach it. Why weren't we as dedicated to it? Why wasn't it a priority? What went wrong? What were the obstacles? What stopped you from getting to where you wanted to be? Then looking at all of those reasons as to why you didn't reach the goal, come up with a new game plan. We can't just move into the next year with the same goal and not a new plan. We need to make sure that we're setting ourselves up for success.
So what action is it that you need to take? What do you need to do to break down those barriers? What needs to be done this month that can get you one step closer? What habits do you need to implement daily that are going to help you get closer to your goal? If you need help creating a clear plan of action, I actually have a great episode on that episode 86, 7 Steps To Setting And Actually Reaching Your Goals. I will link it in the show notes for you to easily go listen. But if you are serious about reaching your goals, this is an episode you do not want to miss out on. It will give you a step by step guide as to how to make it crystal clear so that you can start actually achieving and reaching your goals.
So let me recap those five reminders. Reminder number one, just because you didn't accomplish it this year does not mean that you failed.
Reminder number two, you need to zoom out and look at the bigger picture. What are the other areas in your life that you did succeed at, that you did accomplish things?
Reminder number three, just because you didn't accomplish it this year doesn't mean that you need or should give up.
Reminder number four, you need to reflect on why you didn't reach your goals and figure out a new game plan.
And reminder number five, you need to stop wishing and start doing.
Again, the two episodes that I talked about in today's episode was episode 184, When Things Don't Your Way. And also if you are wanting a game plan for actually achieving your goals, be sure to tune in to episode 86, 7 Steps To Setting And Actually Reaching Your Goals. I will link that in the show notes below so that you can easily go listen. But hey, I just want to remind you that you are where you are right now for a reason. I want you to trust that, I want you to trust in the timing of your life. And I know that it can feel discouraging, and I know that it can feel disheartening not reaching goals that you set out to. But I have to remind myself sometimes I'm not ready for it. Sometimes I still need to be prepared internally or mentally, or I need to go through some other things so that I can make sure that when the blessing does come, when I work hard for the goal, I'm able to actually manage it properly, I'm able to actually manage it as a good steward.
And so that doesn't mean that we don't work hard, that doesn't mean that we can't set goals, but please remember at least for me and my faith, I trust and know that God's timetable is best and it's always different than mine. But it's always the best timetable. And so keep working towards those goals, keep trusting the process, but please, please, please remember that you are not a failure and there is always next year. Next year might be a better time than this year would've been. You never know. So don't give up, don't be discouraged. Keep going. I hope that this episode encouraged you. I hope that it inspired you in some way.
If you have a girlfriend or someone in your life that you feel like would really benefit from this episode, I just ask that you shared out with them. You can send it to them in a text message. You can also screenshot this, post it up on your Instagram story or whatever social platform you are on. I'm also on TikTok. You can do that and be sure to tag me so that I can personally thank you for tuning into the podcast. That is all that I have for today's episode. I will talk to you in the next one.
All right sister, that's all I got for you today, but I have two things that I need you to do. First thing, if you are not already following me on the Gram, be sure to do so. Julie A Ledbetter. Yes. It's with an A in the middle for that daily, post-workout real talk, healthy tips and tricks, and honest accountability to keep your mind and heart in check.
The second thing, be sure to subscribe to Apple Podcasts to never miss an episode. Thank you so much for joining me. It means the absolute world. And I'm going to leave you with one last thought. The most beautiful women that I have met in my life are the ones who are completely confident and secure in being authentically themselves. Remember that beauty goes so much deeper than the surface. So go out there and embrace your real because you're worth it.