Look back at the year

Use graduation season to reflect on the past few months

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
tip is that as the end of the school year approaches,
it's good to seize the occasion to look back on

(00:23):
the year. We need more occasions in life for reflection,
and even if no one you know is graduating, we
can all use that graduation energy to think about what
has worked and what we would like to change. Whether
you have school age kids or not, this time of
year does have a certain feeling. Old things are ending,

(00:47):
new ones are starting. We're thinking about, oh the places
will go to quote that Doctor Say's book, and speakers
everywhere are claiming that we have all taken the road
less traveled by possible. As that may be, it's all
a little funny and cliched, but it is good to
mark the end of one season and the beginning of

(01:09):
the next. If you do have school age kids, you
might consider having a special dinner at the end of
the school year to mark the occasion. This could be
at home, or it could be at a restaurant. Identify
the highs and lows of the year, recognize everyone's big accomplishments,

(01:30):
recall your favorite memories and reflect on how you all
are different now than when the school year began. Adults, too,
I hope you have had moments of growth over the
past nine months. Whether you have a family or not,
it would be good to set aside sometime to take

(01:51):
a look back at your own year. You could either
focus on the school year August or September till May
or June, or the first two quarters of the calendar
year January through June, whichever timeline makes the most sense
for you. Consider what you've accomplished, what have you learned,

(02:12):
were there any surprises? What were your goals and have
you achieved them? If you have any unmeant goals, could
you sprint to achieve them by the end of the summer.
Is that something you want to do. You could reflect
on your own year independently, or you could rally some

(02:33):
people from your professional network to reflect together. Not only
would this be fun and meaningful, it can be reassuring
to realize that everyone has disappointments and low points. You
can think about them together and then think about how
you will constructively move forward. In some ways, life unfolds

(02:56):
continuously for all the Hooplah of graduation season. Daily life
generally doesn't change all that much. But precisely because life
doesn't change all that much, particularly as an adult, we
need to build in moments for reflection. I like to
do this at the end of the calendar year as

(03:17):
I reflect on my goals and plan in ones for
the new calendar year. But the more reflection the better,
and the end of the school year works well, So
take a few moments to sit down and think about it.
Celebrating successes will inspire you to create more in your

(03:38):
next chapter and thinking about what you'd like to change
over the next year so it will be different by
this time next. Graduation season can be just the thing
that makes change happen. I am not sure if that
is the road less traveled by or not, but it
is probably a road worth taking. In the meantime, this

(04:04):
is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the
most of our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast.
If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach
me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast

(04:33):
is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia,
please visit the iHeartRadio, app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you
listen to your favorite shows.