Reflect, Renew, and Rise: How Your 2025 Journey Can Set You Up for Success in 2026

🎙️ New Podcast Episode Alert! 🌟 Dive deep into self-reflection, spirituality, and breaking free from biases with our latest episode. From assessing your year to exploring Colossians 3:2, join us for a journey of growth and empowerment. Don't miss out! 

#Podcast #SelfGrowth #SpiritualJourney

Transcript

Welcome to the The Positive Growth Doctor Podcast®! I am your host, Dr. Christina Wilson. 

As we finish off 2025, it is time to pause and consider what 2026 might look like or what we want in the new year. But first, let’s think about what we have to learn from 2025 and what we might need for 2026 to be successful.

Looking back at 2025, what brought you the most joy?

We often approach the new year with excitement and think, “Uh, this is going to be the best year yet!” 

Every year brings its share of joy and hardships. We are often so busy and distracted that we end up bumping along through the year and sometimes aimlessly.  

That’s not what we intended for us. No one says, “Oh, I think I’ll just fly by the seat of my pants and what will be will be.”

There’s probably someone out there that might do that. But the most successful people and those who get the most done, don’t do that. 

In fact, just thinking of that makes me a little itchy. 

In this episode, you'll embark on a transformative journey of self-reflection and spiritual growth. 

We'll guide you through assessing your past year, setting intentions for the new year, and exploring Colossians 3:2 to help you overcome biases and elevate your mindset. 

Join us for insightful discussions and practical challenges to inspire your personal development for who God meant you to be.

Find the full transcript for this episode on your favorite podcast app. 

Please share the podcast with other women to help them grow on their journey through life. 

Don’t just invite your friends. Extend your reach by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. I appreciate you! 

Reflecting on Your Year: A Path to Personal Growth

I have some curiosity questions to get you thinking about your 2025 as you analyze your year as a whole. Feel free to write these down or review them in the episode’s transcript.

1. What were your top moments this year, personally or professionally, that are worth remembering?
2. What is the one accomplishment you are most proud of from 2025?
3. What was the most significant hurdle you faced this year, and how did you overcome it?
4. What activities or people gave you the most energy this year, and what drained it?
5. What was the single biggest lesson you learned from a mistake or failure in 2025?

Summarizing 2025: Lessons and Insights

Remember, you cannot grow if you do not have the awareness necessary for growth.

Now that you have pulled together some of the highlights and lowlights of your year, it’s time to summarize and reflect further before considering what positive shifts to make as you move into the new year. 

1. If you had to sum up 2025 in just one word or phrase, what would it be?
2. What was the overarching theme or "name" of your year (e.g., "The Year of Growth" or "The Year of Rest")?
3. What is something significant you changed your mind about this year?
4. How are you different now compared to the person you were at the start of 2025?
5. What are three specific things from this past year that you are most grateful for?

Exploring Colossians 3:2: Overcoming Biases

Let’s look at Colossians 3:2 because it reminds us to set our minds on joy as we move forward. That is so powerful. 

Why? Because it is so easy to veer off the path. The world gets a hold of us. 

God wants us to set our eyes on Him. It reminds us to focus our thoughts and desires on heavenly and eternal things rather than…

Hear me now… rather than the TEMPORARY, earthly matters, reflecting on one’s new life in Christ. 

There is a difference between what God wants us and where the world finds us. God vs the word. It’s simple, yet we make it so complicated. 

Biblical Truths That Counteract the Lies That Trip Us Up

As you reflect on 2025, keep this in mind. People often fall into several psychological and practical traps that can skew their perspective or lead to frustration. Here are some common pitfalls regarding psychological pitfalls: 

Recency Bias: Overweighting events from the last few weeks or months rather than reviewing the entire year. To combat this, review your calendar or photos to refresh your memory of earlier months.

The Inner Critic & Perfectionism: Being overly critical of oneself or setting unrealistic standards for what a "successful" year should look like. This often leads to "Achievement Amnesia," where you forget or dismiss genuine small wins.

Biblical Truth -My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9

Emotional Reasoning: Mistaking current feelings for absolute truth—for example, feeling like a failure today and thus concluding the entire year was a failure.

Comparison Trap: Judging your worth by comparing your "insides" (struggles and self-doubt) to other people's curated "outsides" on social media. 

Keep in mind that there are practical & structural mistakes that might occur. 

Biblical Truth: Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed by the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Mixing Reflection with Planning: Combining the act of looking back with the pressure of setting new goals. Experts recommend separate sessions to ensure you actually process 2025 before rushing into 2026.

Rushing the Process: Treating reflection as a "checkbox activity" to be done in a 15-minute gap. A meaningful review typically requires 60–90 minutes of focused, uninterrupted time.

Ignoring Non-Professional Growth: Focusing solely on career or financial metrics while neglecting health, relationships, or personal character shifts.

Lack of Actionable Follow-up: Failing to bridge the gap between reflection and future action. Without identifying specific lessons to apply, reflection can become a stagnant exercise in rumination rather than growth. 

-Biblical Truth: Matthew 11:28-30 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 

So, where do we go from here? How can you create action and grow into 2026? 

Let’s turn challenges into opportunities for growth, which requires a proactive shift from reacting to a situation to analyzing it objectively. 

Transformation is built on cognitive reframing, resilient systems, and targeted action. 

1. Reframe the Perspective

Use the "Yet" Principle, which comes from Carol Dweck’s research on Growth Mindset.

One should adopt a growth mindset by shifting internal language from "I can't do this" to "I can't do this yet". This reframes obstacles as temporary learning phases rather than permanent failures.

Objective De-briefing: Ask yourself: "If this problem is an opportunity for learning, what is it trying to teach me?". This removes emotional bias and uncovers the "silver lining" in any hurdle. 

2. Take Targeted Action

The 48-Hour Rule: Allow yourself a maximum of 48 hours to process disappointment emotionally.

Once that time passes, shift strictly to objective analysis and solution-focused thinking. Remember that God does not want you to hang onto things. Period!

Isolate and Solve: Define the root cause of the problem rather than just the symptoms. Break larger, overwhelming challenges into small, manageable steps to build momentum and confidence.

Set SMART Learning Goals: Instead of just setting performance goals, set "Learning Goals" that target the specific skills you need to develop to overcome the obstacle. 

Use the SMART framework to ensure these are actionable.

Specific- Well-defined

Measurable- Track progress

Achievable- Realistic

Relevant- Aligned with your values

Time-Bound- Set a deadline

3. Build Long-Term Resilience

Maintain a journal specifically to record setbacks and the lessons learned from them. Over time, this becomes a resource for future problem-solving.

Strengths-Based Reflection: After a challenge, identify which of your existing strengths helped you survive. Focusing on developing these areas can lead to faster personal growth than trying to fix every weakness.

Establish a Support Safety Net: Surround yourself with mentors, growth-minded individuals, and women of faith who can provide objective feedback and encouragement during difficult transitions.

Remember, we were never promised a smooth life free of challenges. But when we invite God on your journey as your ultimate adviser and invest in faith and relationship with him, it challenges everything.

Let’s meet up again next week for another episode. Be blessed!