Ep 36 - 5 Powerful End Of Year Reflective Questions

Episode Show Notes

As the year draws to a close, it’s the perfect time to pause, reflect, and take stock of everything we’ve achieved. In this episode, I’m sharing my reflections on 2024, what went well, what didn’t, and how we can use these lessons to propel us into 2025 feeling motivated and proud.

Join me as I walk you through the five reflective questions that have helped me shift my mindset and celebrate my progress. Whether you’re out walking the dog or in between client sessions, grab a notebook, and let’s dive in together!

What You’ll Learn:

• Why our brains are wired to focus on negatives and how to shift that perspective.

• The power of reflection in uncovering your progress and shaping intentional goals.

• My personal business wins from 2024, including launching a hybrid group coaching programme and streamlining my processes for greater impact.

• How I dealt with challenges, from SEO struggles to balancing work-life spaciousness.

• Five reflective questions to guide you as you look back on your year and plan for 2025.

Key Takeaways:

• Reflection counters self-doubt: Our brains naturally highlight struggles, but taking time to reflect helps us acknowledge our wins and see the full picture.

• Celebrating small wins matters: Acknowledging even the smallest successes creates a positive feedback loop that keeps you motivated.

• Intentional goal-setting is powerful: By reflecting on your actions, achievements, and setbacks, you can approach your goals with clarity and purpose.

Action Step:

Set aside an hour this week to work through the five reflective questions I’ve shared. Write your answers down and, if you feel comfortable, share one of your wins in our Beyond the Clinic business Facebook group—I’d love to celebrate with you!

Watch and Connect:

• You can also watch this episode on my YouTube channel for more insights.

• Join the Beyond the Clinic Business Facebook Group for more inspiration and support.

• Connect with me at The Children’s Nutritionist to explore our hybrid coaching programme.

Let’s make 2025 our best year yet. See you next time, where we’ll explore how to identify and overcome self-limiting beliefs.

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The Master Plan:

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Episode transcription:

Beyond the Clinic EP36

[00:00:00] Sarah Almond Bushell: Hello and welcome. As we near the end of the year, it's the perfect time, I think, to pause and reflect on everything that we've achieved, everything that we've learned and overcome in our businesses and in our lives. Recently, I attended a workshop with one of my mentors and it was all about setting goals for 2025 and we started with a reflective exercise on the year just gone.

[00:00:27] Sarah Almond Bushell: And to be completely honest with you, I went into this session feeling a bit flat, maybe even a little bit disappointed. I didn't feel like I'd achieved as much as I hoped this year, and that little voice in my head kept whispering, You know what, Sarah, you could have done more. But by the end of the session, Something inside of me shifted.

[00:00:50] Sarah Almond Bushell: Taking time to really sit down with my reflections reminded me of just how far I have come this year, despite facing some less than ideal circumstances along the way. It was actually quite a powerful moment and it made me realize how easy it is to overlook our progress because we are so focused on what's coming next.

[00:01:12] Sarah Almond Bushell: And that's why I wanted to share these reflections with you today. Actually for two really important reasons. First of all, let's be honest, I know people are naturally curious and I know that you enjoy hearing about what's been happening behind the scenes in my businesses. And secondly, because I believe that these reflective questions will help you see just how much you've achieved as well.

[00:01:39] Sarah Almond Bushell: So grab a cup of tea or your notebook and let's dive into this episode together. So while you're listening, whether it's while walking the dog or whether it's in between client sessions, I really just want you to Think about what you hear in this episode. I hope it will inspire you to take stock of your own year and actually celebrate the little wins that have brought you to this moment in time.

[00:02:08] Sarah Almond Bushell: So let's talk about the human brain for a moment. You might have heard this before, but our brains are wired to focus on the negatives. It's a survival mechanism. Thousands of years ago, this kept us alert to potential dangers, but today, it often just keeps us doubting ourselves. And the brain also has a tendency to distort and delete information in order to match our beliefs.

[00:02:37] Sarah Almond Bushell: So if you've got that little voice in your head saying, I'm not successful or I'm not cut out for this freelance malarkey, your brain will filter out the wins and it'll only highlight to you the struggles. And let me tell you, I have been there this year especially at the start of 2024, I was completely exhausted.

[00:03:00] Sarah Almond Bushell: I had these massive goals for my nutrition business, The Children's Nutritionist. It was going through a massive pivot. Up until this year, our high ticket offer was a 1, 250 one to one package that consisted of six weeks of consultations and contact with our clients. And these sessions were delivered by freelance dietitians that I worked with, but I felt in my guts that this just wasn't good enough anymore.

[00:03:31] Sarah Almond Bushell: It wasn't a good enough service. So there's only so much you can do in six sessions. And I wanted to give the families who chose to work with us more. I wanted to give them the tools and the resources and the time to truly implement the strategies that we were teaching them. And I felt like the results that we were getting for our clients.

[00:03:52] Sarah Almond Bushell: Could, and actually should have been better. So I decided to make a huge shift and I developed a hybrid group coaching program. It's part online course, part live support with six weeks of drop ins and Q& A sessions in a private group. Now, if you've ever made a big change like this in your business, you'll know that it's not as simple as just flipping a switch.

[00:04:18] Sarah Almond Bushell: This pivot meant rethinking how we worked. Reworking all of my marketing and even questioning whether it was the right move or not for me, but also for our clients. And let me tell you, it was really hard, but that wasn't all because at the same time I was grappling with something that I know many, Business owners have faced this year, the shift of how people consume content online.

[00:04:45] Sarah Almond Bushell: So for years, I had relied on SEO search engine optimization to bring in traffic to my website, who I would turn into leads and then into clients. I had amazing traffic, 150, 000 website visitors. Every single month 22, 000 people on my email list, tens of thousands of followers across Instagram, Facebook, and my Facebook group.

[00:05:12] Sarah Almond Bushell: And this was built on years of creating super helpful how to style content that actually served my audience really well. But then AI came along and changed everything. So platforms like Google and social media were no longer being used in the same way. My website traffic and my engagement took a massive hit.

[00:05:36] Sarah Almond Bushell: And it wasn't just me, you know, this was happening across the board to many others, particularly those who had also built their brands on SEO and social media. And I could see my colleagues and.

[00:05:50] Sarah Almond Bushell: Friends struggling with this too. And the worst part is there's no clear solution. There still isn't actually, because nobody really knows how to fix this yet. So anyway, there I was starting the year with these big dreams, but feeling like the rug was being pulled out from under me. Between my pivot in my business model and the decline in the traffic and engagement I was getting from social media, I felt like Everything was a struggle.

[00:06:17] Sarah Almond Bushell: It was an uphill battle. And if you've ever felt that way, like you're putting in all of this effort, but you're not seeing the results that you want, you aren't alone here. So I started doubting myself. Those negative thoughts crept in, , maybe I'm not good enough. Maybe my time has passed. And , worst of all, who am I to be coaching other people in their health businesses while mine is beginning to crumble?

[00:06:40] Sarah Almond Bushell: I actually felt like a bit of a fraud trying to help others grow their businesses when I wasn't sure I could actually keep mine thriving. My brain was stuck in this loop of focusing on the negatives, distorting the reality of what I was actually achieving and deleting anything that didn't fit into this narrative of failure that I'd unintentionally created.

[00:07:03] Sarah Almond Bushell: And that is why Reflection is so powerful. It helps us see through these distortions. It reminds us of the reality that even in super challenging times, You're still making progress. You're still moving forward, but I'll get back to that later in the episode. But for now, I just want you to know that if you've been feeling this way too, you are certainly not alone and it is absolutely not the full picture.

[00:07:36] Sarah Almond Bushell: So the thing about reflection is it's one of the most powerful tools that we've got for growth, which is why, if you think about it, there's such a heavy focus upon reflective practice as student healthcare professionals, and it features very highly in our ongoing CPD. So we need to do the same when it comes for our business.

[00:07:55] Sarah Almond Bushell: When we don't take out time to pause and to reflect, a few things can happen. So first of all, those negative thoughts that we've talked about, they can start to take root. If we don't consciously challenge them, they can start to shape how we see ourselves and how we see our businesses and how we see our progress.

[00:08:16] Sarah Almond Bushell: We begin to believe that story that we're just not doing enough, that we're just not good enough, that success is just all about Always out of reach. So maybe you are just so busy moving from one thing to the next in your business and in your life that you haven't really taken time to acknowledge what you have achieved.

[00:08:36] Sarah Almond Bushell: And while that might seem harmless, it means that you miss out on this huge opportunity to embrace positive feelings, which are actually hugely rewarding. Because when you don't connect with how far you've come, you risk losing motivation. You start to feel overwhelmed and before you know it, you've lost that momentum to keep on going.

[00:08:59] Sarah Almond Bushell: But when you do take time to reflect, something amazing happens. These little acknowledgements of what you've achieved give you little dopamine hits, making you feel warm and fuzzy and happy and Dopamine, as we know, is short lived, but it's highly addictive, so it actually makes you seek out more of that behaviour that made you feel good.

[00:09:20] Sarah Almond Bushell: Essentially, it keeps you motivated, it keeps you moving forwards, and it makes you feel accomplished. And if you do this reflective work, Regularly, you'll start to see patterns in your progress, you'll start to notice lessons in your setbacks and wins that you might not have even realized that were there.

[00:09:40] Sarah Almond Bushell: So reflection helps you reconnect with your purpose. It helps you rediscover your why and the pride that you deserve to feel for everything that you have accomplished in your business. And it also creates a foundation for setting Much more intentional goals, instead of rushing into the next thing or carrying self doubt into the new year.

[00:10:05] Sarah Almond Bushell: It means that you can plan for 2025 from a place of feeling proud and feeling confident. Now that we've talked about reflection and why it's so important, I want to share with you my own reflections from this year. I've used the five questions that I said that I was given to guide me, and they really helped me see the full picture, both the wins and also the lessons.

[00:10:31] Sarah Almond Bushell: Let me walk you through them now. The first question was just simply, what amazing things did I achieve in 2024? This has been a transformational year for me in both my business. So in the Children's Nutritionist, I successfully turned that high ticket one to one program into the hybrid group program.

[00:10:53] Sarah Almond Bushell: And actually quite excitingly, we sold 44 spots on launch. So that's actually three times as many as we sold. In 2023, and it was still at the same price as those one to one packages. So that's a win, isn't it? Then in June, I took that a step further and I turned it into an evergreen funnel, which now just requires one day of my time per month in order to manage.

[00:11:21] Sarah Almond Bushell: So by streamlining the process, I was also able to make my team leaner, saying goodbye to the contractors who were delivering the one to one sessions. And not only did this make the business. Much simpler to run. It also made it more profitable. Then in my business coaching side of the business, I launched this podcast.

[00:11:44] Sarah Almond Bushell: And can you believe that this is episode number 36? I am so proud of how far it's come already.

[00:11:52] Sarah Almond Bushell: And on top of that, I delivered 13 free live training sessions for my audience. And this feels really good to me because it allows me to give back to my profession, especially for those who aren't yet in a position to work with me as their business coach yet. So the second question was, what did I do in order to be able to achieve those things?

[00:12:15] Sarah Almond Bushell: So honestly. What I did was I just got my head down and I worked, but not in a way that burnt me out. I didn't work longer hours. I still protected my evenings and my weekends, but what I did do was I focused on the important work. I avoided those tasks that weren't going to directly impact my business.

[00:12:35] Sarah Almond Bushell: Procrastination was a big one for me to tackle this year and working one to one with a coach actually made all the difference for me because it was having someone that I could go to for advice that stopped me from overthinking things. It stopped me from going round in circles. It freed me up to take action.

[00:12:56] Sarah Almond Bushell: And that's how I was able to 5x or 5 times the revenue in my coaching business this year. So the third question is, how does it make me feel when I think about these achievements? Actually, the word I would use is I feel accomplished. I feel successful. And I also feel ready for a break. So knowing all that hard work that I put in this year has moved me closer to my goals is such an amazing feeling and I'm so pleased that I've taken the time to actually just acknowledge what emotion is attached to all of this.

[00:13:32] Sarah Almond Bushell: Question four was, what did I want to achieve, but didn't? So this is where things start to get really interesting for me. One of my goals was to create more spaciousness in my life, more time to relax, to unwind, but because of all the hard work, I actually found it difficult to truly switch off at times.

[00:13:51] Sarah Almond Bushell: And it's definitely something I want to work on in 2025. The other thing that I wanted to fix was my SEO and my traffic problem for the Children's Nutritionist. But the thing is, I wasn't able to solve that. And do you know what? I'm okay with that. I've come to terms with the fact that actually, It's still an evolving space.

[00:14:13] Sarah Almond Bushell: Nobody actually has the answers yet. And so I'm not beating myself up about that. And then the fifth question is, you know, why did you not achieve those things? When it came to the spaciousness side of things, the issue was that I just found it really hard to switch my brain off and relax. I was so focused on making progress that slowing down almost felt impossible for me.

[00:14:39] Sarah Almond Bushell: And that's probably why I'm feeling so tired. Now, at this time of the year. And as for the SEO problem the reality is there just isn't a solution out there right now. And that's okay. It's a good reminder that some things are just simply beyond our control. So reflecting on these questions has been really powerful for me.

[00:14:58] Sarah Almond Bushell: As I said, it's helped me identify that I have made progress. I have started to celebrate my wins and I've actually started to get really clear on where I want to focus my attention for next year. Now that I've walked you through my reflections, it's your turn. These five questions aren't just a journaling exercise.

[00:15:19] Sarah Almond Bushell: They're a way to ground yourself in the reality of what you've achieved, and also shine a light on where you're headed. If you don't yet have that clarity, It will come once you've been through this process. I can't stress enough how powerful these questions are. I want to guide you through them so that you can get that same clarity of thought that I did.

[00:15:42] Sarah Almond Bushell: So here we go. Number one, what amazing things did you achieve in 2024? So take your time with this one. Don't rush it. Go back through your calendar, your emails, and even actually your photo app on your phone, just to jog your memory and Prompt some reminders and then write down everything that you've achieved this year, no matter how big or how small it seems.

[00:16:06] Sarah Almond Bushell: Did you land a new client? Did you launch a new service or a product? Did you pivot on how you deliver a service like I did? Or did you improve your work life balance? Because every single one of these is a win and all of these count and this is your chance to celebrate them all. I actually encourage my clients to reflect at the end of every single week and celebrate their wins by just posting them in our Facebook group.

[00:16:33] Sarah Almond Bushell: And it's so that we can celebrate each other's successes as well. So some examples that I can read out for you now are, I've finished writing my seven day email welcome sequence. I've had two great networking meetings this week. My first blog post is live. I've created my visibility strategy and I love this one.

[00:16:56] Sarah Almond Bushell: I've just handed in my notice. So the second question, what did you do in order to achieve them? This is all about recognising the how. So think about the actions that you took. Think about the habits you might have developed or the support systems that you put in place that made your wins possible. Did you commit to focused work?

[00:17:18] Sarah Almond Bushell: Did you invest in outside support, like a coach or a mentor? Or maybe you started saying no to things that didn't align with your business goals. Whatever it was, acknowledge it, because this is your success story. And these are the things that you'll want to carry on doing. Into 2025 and beyond. Question number three, how does it make you feel when you think about those achievements?

[00:17:44] Sarah Almond Bushell: So don't skip this one. All too often we move straight off from ticking off a goal to focusing on the next thing without pausing to feel the pride and the joy of what we've accomplished. So I want you to really sit with this. How does it feel to know that your hard work has paid off? What emotions come up for you?

[00:18:05] Sarah Almond Bushell: Is there a physical feeling in your body? So just let that sense of accomplishment sink in. You should absolutely be super proud of yourself. Question number four. What did you want to achieve but didn't? So this isn't about beating yourself up. It's about understanding what didn't happen and then why. So be honest, but be kind to yourself.

[00:18:29] Sarah Almond Bushell: Maybe life got in the way. Maybe your priorities shifted. Maybe it was something outside of your control, like my SEO situation. The point here is to acknowledge it without judgment. And if you can, learn from it. I'm a huge believer in that all things happen for a reason, and so if something didn't happen for you, perhaps it wasn't the right time, or maybe you needed to learn something first, or maybe the universe has got something better in mind for you.

[00:19:00] Sarah Almond Bushell: And then question five, why didn't you achieve those things? So this just helps you uncover the why behind what didn't happen? Was it a mindset block? So often as freelance healthcare professionals, that can get in our way. we get in our own way, but it might've been a lack of time, especially if you're still working part time in the NHS or for somebody else.

[00:19:25] Sarah Almond Bushell: We often expect that we can get more done than we truly can when our time is just Pulled in different directions. Maybe it was a lack of resources. Maybe you were still doing all of your own admin or creating graphics or building a website before you got your business foundations in place. This is something I see all the time.

[00:19:44] Sarah Almond Bushell: Or maybe your goal wasn't aligned with your bigger vision as you first thought it was. Understanding the reasons will help give you clarity, and it'll help you set more realistic and also more meaningful goals when you move into 2025. If these five questions feel a bit deep and feel a bit overwhelming, Don't worry, you don't have to answer them all at once.

[00:20:09] Sarah Almond Bushell: I find setting aside some quiet time, maybe to ponder upon them, maybe go for a walk in the countryside and just ponder on one question at a time. That can be really helpful. You could also use these questions in a conversation with a trusted friend or a coach or a colleague. Sometimes when you start saying things out loud, it helps you see your wins and it helps You uncover lessons a bit more clearly.

[00:20:35] Sarah Almond Bushell: And then finally, the other thing that works really well for me is to write it down. There's something about putting a pen to paper where subconscious thoughts just seem to pour out the end of your pen. Plus, what I love about writing is it's a really great thing to be able to save and look back on this time next year.

[00:20:54] Sarah Almond Bushell: So there you have it. Five reflective questions to round out the year that I found so powerful and I hope that you will too.

[00:21:02] Sarah Almond Bushell: So your action step is just to set aside one hour this week to reflect using those five questions. Write down your answers and if you feel comfortable, I'd love for you to share one of your wins with me In our Beyond the Clinic business Facebook group, and I'd love to celebrate with you.

[00:21:21] Sarah Almond Bushell: So join me next time where we are diving into mindset stuff and working out whether your mindset is holding you back in business. We are going to identify our self limiting beliefs and make you realize that you can help yourself here. Bye for