It’s official, by the calendar dates we’ve moved into another Fall Season. The 4th Quarter and ‘finish’ of the Year is just days away.
There’s quite a bit to digest in this week’s Monday Huddle. I know I’ve been pushing you over the past several weeks with the back to school cram sessions, where hopefully you to challenged yourself. This week, we’re taking it a little easier but that doesn’t mean there isn’t work to do.
With the start of Fall, there are a few common transitions that occur. First, you are likely grabbing a jacket, depending on what part of the country you live it. Seemingly everyone starts ordering pumpkin-spiced everything (I, for one, won’t be partaking – I’ll never get the appeal – but, please, indulge). Then your mind might wander to the Holiday season stress or you get a little anxious about the year’s end and all that entails.
But before you do any of that. Stop for a moment. I’ve got something else for you today that will be help shape this last quarter and ultimately define the year that was 2021. It’s something everyone, professionally and personally, should be doing this time of year.
First, let’s just take a moment to pause, reflect, look back at the year you’ve had, at all you’ve accomplished, the challenges you’ve met and overcome, the successes you’ve made possible, the victories you can celebrate and yes, even those things that didn’t go so well. There are lessons to learn from everything you gone through so far this year.
You can even go back a year ago. You’ll see how far you’ve truly come. You and your team deserve a ton of credit to making here.
So, before another day ticks off the calendar, think about where you’ve been and what you’ve been through.
Take Inventory… of the past.
Of course, we don’t stop there. We are going to use that to fuel your motivation as you turn your glance towards the future. The 4th Quarter begins in just a matter of days.
Now is the time, as we enter the final stretch of the year, to ask yourself: what all do you have to look forward to.
Goals you will accomplish, opportunities you will capitalize on, events you will experience, and perhaps even foreseen challenges you will need to overcome. What can you envision now that will ensure you make the rest of this year a remarkable success?
There is, obviously, still 25% of your entire year ahead of you. If you think about all you’ve done and just extrapolate it out you’ve still got a third more year left ahead than what’s now behind. With 3 quarters down and 1 to go, just think of all you can achieve.
Take Inventory… of the future.
Now, it’s very simple, we’ll connect the two together (the past and the future) through your own personal perspective. Start by taking a big deep breath and hold it, hold it, wait a moment longer, and breathe it out twice as slow as you took it in… just enjoy that air around you for a second and savor the turning of the seasons.
Then ask yourself, “Where am I at right now in this moment?”
With my health, my peace of mind, my focus, my own self confidence?
With my performance as a team member, as a guide for my patients?
With my family and friends, my significant other, and my relationship with myself?
Right now, what connects the past and the future? What can I learn from where I’ve been? What do I need to know for where I’m going?
Take Inventory… of the present.
Here’s the bottom line: it’s easy for life to rush right on by us or for us to rush right on by life. Resist that urge to wish away time. Take a moment to take it all in, where you have been, where you are going, where you are at right now.
It’s the perfect time in your year to take inventory. You’ve experienced enough of 2021 to know what kind of year it has been but yet there is still plenty of time to make the most of it and change the outcome for this set of 12 months.
Now, give it all you’ve got to get all you deserve. It’s time to sprint to the end, as the finish line is just around the bend
