Reflecting, Recalibrating & Reimagining 2026

A Year-End Planning Deep Dive

December carries a particular energy.

In Allied Health, and in leadership more broadly, it is often the busiest and most demanding time of the year. Calendars are full, nervous systems are tired, and there is a quiet pressure to push through to the finish line before January arrives.

But December has always offered me something else.

Reflection.

It is one of my greatest strengths and one of my most grounding rituals of the year. Reflection gives me clarity, insight, and evidence of growth. It helps me understand who I have been, who I am becoming, and what truly matters before I move forward.

This is not about forcing productivity or setting rigid goals while already exhausted. It is about slowing down long enough to see the year clearly, and using that clarity to intentionally design what comes next.

Looking Back at the Year With Honesty

Before planning the year ahead, I always look back.

If you set intentions in January, I invite you to revisit them. If you chose a word, a phrase, or a theme, sit with it again. What unfolded? What surprised you? What shifted internally, not just externally?

At the start of 2025, my guiding phrase was “It is our time.”

Looking back now, I can see how that intention played out in ways I anticipated, and in ways I could never have planned. Leadership growth, stronger systems, clearer boundaries, and a deeper relationship with my body and nervous system all emerged as themes.

One of the biggest lessons in reflection is recognising how easily we remember challenges, and how quickly we forget wins.

Our minds are wired to scan for what went wrong. Reflection invites us to collect data on what went right. Wins are rarely accidental. They are patterns created by habits, decisions, systems, and values.

When you name your wins and ask why they happened, you begin to build evidence that you can navigate complexity, stretch, and growth.

Reframing Challenges as Teachers

This year brought its share of challenges. Some I anticipated. Others arrived unexpectedly.

What stood out most was not the challenges themselves, but how differently I met them. Where I once responded with urgency, self doubt, or overthinking, I noticed more steadiness, curiosity, and accountability.

Challenges reveal patterns.

Patterns in behaviour.

Patterns in leadership.

Patterns in energy and capacity.

Patterns that highlight where growth is asking to happen.

Instead of asking, “Why is this happening to me?” I now ask, “What is this here to teach me?”

Some of the most powerful reflection questions I sat with were:

• Where did I ignore my intuition?

• Where did I abandon myself to meet expectations?

• Where did I surprise myself with resilience?

• What patterns am I ready to outgrow?

Growth becomes sustainable when we stop seeing challenges as threats and start seeing them as teachers.

Values Over Obligation

One of the clearest lessons from this year was the cost of working from obligation.

When commitments are driven by pressure, fear, or expectation, burnout is almost inevitable. When commitments are aligned with values, energy expands rather than depletes.

This distinction now sits at the centre of how I make decisions.

If something feels heavy, anxious, or forced, it is often coming from obligation. If something feels grounded, energising, or clear, it is usually coming from truth.

Reflection gives us the opportunity to audit our commitments and ask whether our time, energy, and leadership are aligned with what truly matters.

Designing the Year Ahead From Life First

When I begin planning a new year, I do not start with goals.

I start with life.

I map out holidays, rest, and recovery first. I consider school terms, travel, seasonality, and energy rhythms. Only then do I layer in work commitments and leadership responsibilities.

This shift changed everything.

I also separate my work into two categories:

• High level leadership and vision work

• Operational tasks that can be delegated or shared

This clarity protects energy and ensures my time is spent where it is most impactful.

Your schedule is not neutral. It either supports your nervous system or drains it. Planning is one of the most practical forms of self care.

Visualising December 2026

One of the most powerful planning tools I use is future based reflection.

I imagine myself in December 2026, looking back on the year with clarity and pride.

What am I celebrating?

What boundaries did I honour?

What did I release?

Who did I become?

Writing from that future perspective brings immediate focus. The future version of you often has the clearest answers. You simply need to ask.

Choosing a word or phrase for the year can also serve as a compass. Not as a trend, but as a guide for decisions, commitments, and boundaries when the pace inevitably increases again.

Reflection Is Not a Luxury

Reflection is not indulgent. It is leadership.

The ability to pause, make meaning, and recalibrate is what allows growth to be intentional rather than reactive. You do not need hours. Even thirty focused minutes can change how you enter the next year.

Before rushing into January, honour the year you have lived. Name the lessons. Celebrate the wins. Acknowledge the growth.

Clarity does not come from pushing harder into the future.

It comes from understanding where you have been, and choosing what comes next with intention.