We have arrived at the year’s final threshold, a month that invites us to look back at what has been and forward to what could be.
Each December, I revisit the practice of Finishing Strong. I return to it personally and share the practice as a way of inviting others into reflection. At its heart, it is a practice of reflection and renewal, evaluating progress, celebrating resilience, completing what needs closure, and opening space for what is new. It is intended to help bring the year to a close with intention and set the stage for the year ahead.
This year has carried deep challenges, personally and professionally. I said goodbye to close loved ones and to a company that shaped nearly a decade of my life. There were times when I felt off balance and not very strong in the midst of these changes. As I return to this annual practice, I find myself wondering how strength might look and feel as the year comes to a close.
If your year has carried loss or sudden change, my heart goes out to you. May you honor what you feel and give yourself grace and space to move through it. Perhaps you too are arriving at this threshold carrying what has been hard. If so, give yourself the time you need to honor your feelings with compassion.
We all meet thresholds differently. Change, whether chosen or unexpected, always asks us to release something familiar and step into the unknown. The unknown can feel exciting or frightening, depending on how we meet it.
I invite you to begin this practice wherever you are. Strength isn’t measured by how hard we push, but by how intentionally we align with what matters most.
Four Invitations for Finishing Strong
- Evaluate progress toward your goals
Pause to acknowledge what you’ve accomplished and where you’ve grown. Progress is not always linear. This year, consider how your goals have shifted, evolved, or deepened. Some goals may have reached completion; others may have transformed into something new. Evaluation is less about milestones and metrics and more about recognizing the rhythm of growth.
- Celebrate what you have accomplished to date
Celebration honors resilience as much as achievement. Pause to notice the quiet strengths, the small wins, and the ways you showed up consistently.
- Complete what needs to be completed
Endings carry wisdom. Ask yourself: what calls for closure? What tasks, commitments, or patterns are ready to be released? Completion is not only about finishing; it is about honoring the cycle of letting go, so space can open for renewal.
- Make room for something new
Beginnings are thresholds. As you prepare to step into the next cycle, pause to release what no longer serves, so that space opens for what is true for you. Making room is not about adding more; it’s about accessing and releasing things you no longer need or use, things you no longer feel connected to, and things that keep you stuck in the past.
Reflection Prompts for Your Own Practice
- Pause and honor: Where have you grown this year, even if progress looked different than expected?
- Celebrate resilience: What small wins or quiet strengths deserve recognition?
- Seek closure: What tasks, commitments, or patterns are ready to be released before the year ends?
- Name a new intention: What practice, project, or way of being feels true to carry into the new year?
Finishing strong is not about perfection; it’s about alignment with what is true for you. As you close this year, may you honor what has been, release what no longer serves, and carry forward only what steadies your steps into the year ahead.
Thank you for pausing here. If my writing has offered meaningful insight or sparked a shift in you, I would be honored to hear what stayed with you.
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All the best,
Ruthann
Copyright © Ruthann M. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.
In-Progress, LLC | Walk your path with intention, at your own pace
Ruthann M. Wilson 