I’m a self-diagnosed future-tripper. I love imagining what could happen months or even years down the road. This time of year, especially, it’s easy to start dreaming and strategizing about 2026.
But right now, I’m trying to be intentional about not racing there. Instead, I want to use the next couple of weeks to slow down, pause, and make sure I’m actually learning what I need to from 2025.
In our Elevate Program, we talk about reflection often. Reflection is where the learning happens. And for me, it’s easy to slip into do-it mode—jumping from project to project, task to task, trip to trip. When we move that quickly, we leave a lot on the table if we don’t stop to ask ourselves what we’re experiencing along the way.
So, in the spirit of pausing, I’ve put together a list of questions that are challenging me to slow down and think a bit more deeply about 2025. I’ve grouped them by theme to add some structure and context.
If you’re craving meaningful reflection as we close out the year, save this piece. When you can carve out the time, start with the questions that spark something in you.
A note for the reader
You don’t need to answer every question here. This isn’t a checklist or an assignment. Think of this as a starting point.
Notice which questions grab your attention. Pay attention to the ones that make you pause, feel slightly uncomfortable, or linger longer than the others. Start there.
Often, the questions we want to skip are the ones with the most to teach us.
What actually happened this year?
Before we analyze, optimize, or set intentions, it’s worth pausing long enough to name what actually unfolded.
When you look back at 2025, what surprised you most about how it unfolded?
What did you think would matter this year that ultimately didn’t?
What mattered far more than you expected?
Where did your lived experience of 2025 differ from the story you told yourself about it?
How did you show up?
This isn’t about grading yourself. It’s about noticing patterns in how you responded — especially when things felt uncomfortable or uncertain.
In moments of pressure this year, who did you tend to become?
Where were you most aligned with your values — and where did that alignment slip?
When did you stay present instead of reactive?
Where did you choose clarity over being liked?
Patterns you can’t unsee anymore
As the year comes to a close, some patterns are harder to ignore — not because they’re new, but because they’ve repeated themselves often enough to be unmistakable.
What patterns showed up again and again this year, even when the context changed?
What situations consistently brought out your strengths?
What situations reliably depleted you?
What is now obvious about how you work, lead, or relate that wasn’t clear a year ago?
Growth that didn’t look like growth at the time
Not all growth is obvious while it’s happening. Some of it only becomes visible in hindsight.
What felt difficult or disorienting in the moment but now feels formative?
Where did you have to let go of certainty in order to keep moving forward?
What did 2025 teach you about your capacity — not just your capability?
What did you stop needing permission for?
Tensions you’re still holding
Closure isn’t always the goal. Sometimes the work is learning how to carry a tension without rushing to resolve it.
What tension remains unresolved — and what have you learned from holding it?
Where did you resist closure because something still needed to be understood?
What conversations are still echoing for you?
What are you no longer trying to fix?
Relationships, impact, and presence
This year wasn’t lived in isolation. It unfolded in rooms, relationships, and moments of connection.
How did people experience you this year?
Where did trust deepen — and how do you know?
Who challenged you in ways that ultimately expanded you?
Who did you become more generous with — your time, your listening, your expectations?
Letting go before moving forward
Before turning the page, it’s worth naming what you’re ready to release.
What are you ready to stop carrying into the next year?
What expectations can you let go of — of yourself or others?
What role, identity, or pace no longer fits?
What does “enough” look like now, after living this year?
