The Anita Siek Blog

You know what I was thinking recently? Why we find it so much more important to pause, reflect, evaluate and celebrate yearly, but not monthly. How can we be expected to celebrate every little win, every checkbox ticked, and every learning moment, when looking back on our business journey only once every 12 months?!

So, for the last two years, I’ve implemented monthly reflection. Why? Because I am that person who is a self-confessed goalpost mover. And I know there are those of you reading this right now thinking “yep, I resonate with this!”. As though you set those goals and then as soon as you’re nearly there, you move it.

“It’s like I’m setting myself up to fail”

It’s about the journey

As we all know, and certainly one of the biggest lessons that I have learned, is that it’s not so much about achieving your goals – it’s the journey of who we become while striving to reach them. Because, when we’re heading towards those goals? That is where the real magic happens. The thing is, though, when we are always thinking of these ideas, things we want to do and be, we forget to actually slow down, pause and celebrate how far we have come.

We underestimate what we’re capable of

There’s actually this quote that talks about how we overestimate how much we can do in a day, but we underestimate how much we can accomplish in a month – or in say, a decade. I mean, if you were to honestly pause for a moment and think about – you once wished you were exactly where you are right now.

Yeah. Uh huh. Oh, yeah. Let that sink in.

You did you once wish you were exactly where you are right now. And it’s the same for me. And it’s not until we’re able to slow on down that we can truly pause, reflect, evaluate and celebrate.

So fam, let’s make a pact right here, right now. Let’s decide “wow, heck yeah, I’m gonna celebrate that win!” or “Yes, I can learn from that!”.

Here’s how I do it

So every single month, I dedicate a day (literally, it’s in my diary) where I tee the time off to pause, reflect, evaluate and celebrate. And I get so excited about that. I call it my ‘reset day’.

Sometimes I head to the beach. Some days I might even just sit in my garden and journal. Other days, I might book myself in for a float. Often I just get in my car and go for a drive near the ocean and just listen to the waves.

But every month is a little bit different. And I love it that way. Because it’s a chance for me to go somewhere where I’m able to just be. For that one moment I completely pause, reflect, evaluate and celebrate the month that has just passed.

And there are four key things that I tend to focus on when I start to reflect:

1. What am I most proud of?
2. What did I learn that month?
3. What didn’t go so well that month?
4. What can I do better next time?

It’s so exciting to just sit there and let your mind wander. And if you’re sitting there reading this thinking “heck yes, I need some of this in my life!” then do yourself a favour and pull up your calendar right now.

Yep. Right now. Literally, I’ll wait.

And once you have it open? Schedule in a recurring day each month where you literally just stop, pause, and take inventory of the last 30 days. I promise that you’ll quickly start to find just how much more present you’re able to be when you don’t just look back on NYE thinking “PHEW, what a year!!”. But you take the time each month to look at it while it’s fresh and say, hey, this month is worth celebrating for what it was.

Wrap it up with intention

The thing that I love to do at the end of my reset day is to take a moment to really set my intention for the upcoming months. So, for example, I did this at the end of February, and for the month of March, I really thought about the concept of flow.

I’m currently gearing up to relaunch Wordfetti Your Words (which is our signature online program you guys are going to hear me talk about over the next couple of months) and usually, in the lead up to launch, old Anita would be like “AHHHH?!?!” at all the things I need to do. But new Anita says no, I want this to feel flowy and, in a way, easy. Less stress.

And that’s exactly the intention I set for myself for the month ahead.

So fam, lock that date in your calendar and let’s all agree to take MORE opportunities to stop and reflect on the wins along the way. Because those wins? Are worth more than ANY goal you set for yourself along the way.

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