As we wind down to the final week of the year, things are hopefully begin to slow down in the office. I urge you take a moment to reflect on all the success you have had this past year. Think back to the beginning of 2023 when you laid out your ambitious hopes and plans for the year. Take a moment to celebrate the small, medium and big wins along the way.

This is the practice of savoring. Savoring is helpful in building your optimism, restoring your dopamine reserves and fueling your genuine happiness.

As a Vice President at Laurier, I’m especially proud of the progress our Student Affairs team has made in engaging students and helping them to get back to the pre-pandemic levels of community involvement which play such an important role in building our campus spirt and pride. As a coach, the soccer team I led banded together and found a way to win making their way into the top division of our league for next year. As an entrepreneur, I grew my business to record levels of revenue, sharing my message to more people than ever. Lastly, and most importantly, I invested more time and attention in my marriage and family drawing us closer together and made big strides in improving my health and well-being.

I am proud of the hard work and the efforts I put into all the aspects of my personal life and professional life.

While it wasn’t always easy, determination and commitment to the goals that aligned with my core values won out. Make sure you take the time to actively reflect on the progress you have made whether your changes were increments or slam dunks. Sometimes we get so caught up in achieving the big, hairy, audacious goal that we forget to savor the steps along the way. 

Celebrate the small wins! 

Savoring is a key skill of resilience and goes a long way in building your hope and optimism. I’m not encouraging you relax or settle for good enough. Taking a moment to reflect in your journey and how much you have accomplished over the year might actually surprise you. Now is the time-before you go back to the drawing board for goal setting in 2024. Remember all you’ve learned and accomplished in 2023. If we rush from high performance goal to high performance goal without taking the time to savor our accomplishments, we run the risk of burnout. 

My call to action to you is:  Take a moment right now, after you have read this quick message and close your eyes. Take a deep breath in, and recall three things that you felt great about moving the needle on this year. Or, recall three compliments that were passed along to you this year.  You deserved to be celebrated!

Congratulations on being a high performer.  Here’s to a great 2024, my friends!