Time to Reflect

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year.”

I guess that depends on a lot of variables. For me, it felt like the ‘most wonderful time’ to hit pause so that I could refocus and reflect. This year brought so many changes - being an empty nester, taking on parent caregiving and starting a new business. Certainly these present some interesting (and sometimes stressful) challenges. When I realised that I couldn’t easily point my activities back to my original goals I knew that I had veered off course and needed to recalibrate.

I invested a lot of time this year on building the capacity of Lisa McLean Publications. This included expanding the types of coaching support that authors who want to self-publish could access. I absolutely enjoyed these projects. I made some new friends and expanded the breadth of my knowledge of the publishing process. However, my writing suffered. I just couldn’t seem to find the time to work on my books.

Writing, for me, is therapeutic. It’s an opportunity to slow down and immerse myself in the creative process; to step away from the cares of daily life and delve into the world of my imagination and to embark on new adventures. I was amassing a growing list of ideas that I wanted to dive into but didn’t have the time. So, although it took me a while to give myself permission to do so, I decided it was time to step away from coaching for a bit. Up to that point I had committed to my weekly live shows at the start of the year and these had expanded into two writing communities. Even though I was finally making progress with building my community I was beginning to feel burnt out.

So, I realised that I needed

to model what I tell my coaching clients - sometimes showing up as your best self involves stepping away to refill your own cup and make sure that you're still walking in your purpose.

So, as we close off this year I pray that as you use this time to reconnect with family and friends that you also make time to reconnect with you - make sure you are being authentic and aligned with your purpose.