What to keep, what to let go, and what to grow
THE END OF the year has a way of sharpening your awareness in that clear, practical way high achievers appreciate. The pace shifts just enough for you to step out of the noise, look at what’s actually been driving your year, and make deliberate choices about what deserves to come with you into the next one.
Most high achievers don’t need a bigger push—they need a clearer sense of what’s supporting them, what’s quietly weighing them down, and what deserves more of their time, energy, and attention.
The Year End Reflection Worksheet I created for my clients and myself isn’t about pressure or performance. It’s about noticing what feels aligned, what doesn’t, and what’s ready to evolve. That’s the foundation for moving into the next year feeling lighter, clearer, and more grounded.
Here’s how it works:
Part 1: REFLECT
What’s Working? (And Why You Need to Protect It)
High achievers are excellent at identifying and tackling problems. They know how to use their strengths to drive results—but they’re far less practiced at actually savoring their successes.
When you’re constantly scanning for the next challenge, the next deliverable, the next fire to put out, you often skip the most vital question of this season:
What’s actually helping me feel or function better?
Maybe it was a shift in thinking—catching yourself before spiraling into defensiveness or blame.
Maybe it was choosing rest before you hit a wall.
Maybe you softened an edge with someone—or held a boundary that needed to be there.
Maybe you noticed a moment of compassion that came more easily than it used to.
These are not small things. These are signs of emotional growth—the kind that lasts longer than any resolution.
And this is exactly where neuroscience offers a useful reminder: The brain has a negativity bias, which means it naturally locks onto what’s wrong or unfinished. Wins, progress, and positive shifts don’t register automatically. They have to be noticed and felt.
When you acknowledge your wins, you’re not being self-congratulatory. You’re helping your brain encode the felt sense of success. That felt sense is what allows the brain to compare relative rewards and decide, “Yes, this is worth doing again.” It builds sustainable effort—from the inside out. Not by pushing harder, but by reinforcing what’s already working.
Before you decide what needs to change in 2026, start with what deserves to stay. Your mind may push you to focus on what’s wrong. But your nervous system is quietly asking, “Can we please acknowledge what’s working? Can we build from there instead of starting from scratch?”
This is where the Reflect section of the worksheet comes in—questions designed to help you see what your brain has been too busy to notice.
Take a breath. Look back with honesty and appreciation—a clear-eyed look at what truly supported you. What helped you succeed this year—emotionally, mentally, or relationally— is the foundation for what comes next.
Part 2: REFOCUS
What’s Not Helping (Even If It Used To) Now let’s talk about the less comfortable side of reflection: the patterns, roles, expectations, and emotional habits that quietly drain you.
Not because you’re doing anything wrong. But because something that once served you… doesn’t anymore.
High achievers tend to keep outdated strategies long after their usefulness expires.
The belief that pushing harder will fix everything. The reflex to hold things together for everyone else.
The emotional self-sufficiency that helped you survive—but now keeps you isolated.
This is where the ability to reevaluate becomes a form of liberation.
Ask yourself: What no longer fits the person I’m becoming?
What responsibilities or emotional weight am I taking on that doesn’t actually belong to me?
Where am I defaulting to keeping the peace at the expense of clarity or healthy boundaries?
Letting go doesn’t mean giving up or losing something.
It’s creating space for a different experience—one you may not even realize is possible yet.
As you move into the Refocus part of the worksheet, treat this moment as a clearing. A release of what’s outdated, heavy, or simply no longer aligned with the life you want in 2026.
What Deserves Your Attention Now?
Once you’ve named what’s helping and what’s not, the fog starts to lift. You can see your inner landscape more clearly—what feels settled, what feels stretched thin, and what’s quietly asking for your attention.
This is where the work shifts from reflection to intentional focus. Ask yourself: What most needs my energy right now? Not what’s loudest. Not what others expect. Not what you “should” care about. What genuinely matters to you?
Maybe it’s repairing a relationship that’s been hanging in limbo or setting a boundary you’ve been avoiding.
Maybe it’s reinvesting in a part of yourself you sidelined amid the year’s busyness.
Maybe it’s committing to a habit that stabilizes your mood or upgrades your capacity. Clarity isn’t about narrowing your life—it’s about freeing your energy from everything that doesn’t belong to you anymore.
This is the essence of the Refocus section of the worksheet. It’s where you reclaim agency and move from emotional autopilot to conscious leadership of your inner world.
What Do You Want More Of in 2026?
Most people set resolutions based on what they think they should want: more discipline, better habits, less stress, stronger boundaries. Nothing wrong with those—but they’re often based on pressure rather than desire.
A better question is: What do I want more of?
More calm? More connection? More energy? More confidence? More clarity?
Your nervous system moves toward what feels rewarding, not what feels obligatory. When you identify what you genuinely want more of, your behavior begins to shift from the inside out. Not through force, but through resonance.
This is where high achievers often feel the first internal exhale. Because it’s not about doing more—it’s about creating the emotional conditions that allow you to thrive.
Let your answers here guide your next steps. They’re not resolutions. They’re your direction for what comes next.
Part 3: RESET
Reset — Start Smaller Than You Think Here’s the part most people get wrong: They try to reset their lives with intensity. They overhaul everything at once, fueled by a brief spike of motivation that inevitably fades.
Sustainable change doesn’t work that way. Your brain and nervous system respond best to what’s small, repeatable, and rewarding. That’s why the Reset section of your worksheet ends with three simple questions:
- What’s one bold move I’m ready to make? Not dramatic—just meaningful. A shift that signals, “I’m serious about moving differently.”
- What one new action, practice, or tool will I experiment with? Experimentation is key. It bypasses perfectionism and keeps your nervous system curious and open to change.
- What’s one thing I’m ready to let go of or do differently? This is the release valve. It frees up emotional bandwidth so your effort has somewhere to land.
When you take these steps with intention—not intensity—you create a reset that lasts.
Begin Again Without Burning Out
You don’t have to transform your personality before the clock strikes midnight. You don’t need a perfectly organized plan. You don’t need superhuman willpower.
You just need to know what’s worth carrying forward… and what’s not.
What matters most right now is alignment — between how you want to feel and how you actually live.
This is how high achievers create sustainable progress—by continually getting clear on what matters and recalibrating from the inside out. Not the frantic push, not the forced reinvention.
If you’re ready to enter 2026 feeling lighter, clearer, and more connected to yourself, that’s the kind of work I can help you do.
Not with a formula. Not with a one-sizefits-all plan.
But with a strategic, psychologically grounded process that meets you exactly where you are—so you can move forward with confidence and capacity.