Quarterly Review | Q4 2024
With five Sundays in December, and as 2024 draws to its curtain call in just a couple of weeks time, this feels as good a time as any to draw up a chair by the fire alongside those dearest to us.
As 2024 draws to its curtain call in just a couple of weeks time, this feels as good a time as any to draw up a chair by the fire alongside those dearest to us. As we gaze, deep in reflection, we see the past 12 months played out in the flames, the highs and the lows, but nevertheless, life ever-burning.
Like it or not, as we approach the close of the year, there are evermore moments to look back, on the last month, the last quarter, and the last 12 months. I love this note from
:Somehow, in looking back, we all need that reminder to reflect with grace and gentleness, in acceptance that as time has passed, we’re still here, and we did the best we could.
Whether you’ve been part of this journey for a while, or if you’re new here, you’re very welcome. If you’d like to read about why I started Rediscover · Reconnect · Re-Emerge on Substack, then here is my very first post, recently updated:
You can read more about me here, and also, don’t forget to visit the A Life More Creative website.
As we look back, I loved these words from
:So I share all of this today to say: sometimes the most meaningful growth in our business is quiet and internal. It’s the courage you build, the voice you discover and use, the creativity you nurture and share, the humanness you give yourself permission to honour along the way. So as you look back at your business journey this year, don’t forget to bear witness to the quiet growth too, to who this year held space for you to become as you navigated all of the highs and lows along the way.
Whether you run a business or not, I think these are lovely, gentle reminders to embrace at this time of year. If you’re looking for a mechanism through which to reflect, I really enjoyed this post from
:
As
says:My business journey this year was less about growth and more about grounding. I focused on strengthening the roots of my business, even if it meant slower, quieter progress on the surface. Beneath it all, there was deep transformation—work that may not have been visible to others but has reshaped me and my business in beautiful ways.
Sometimes, we need a gentle nudge to celebrate all that went on behind the scenes; all the things which brought us to where we are now.
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A lot of us have been writing about slowing down (
, , , , and to name but a few), and seeking calm moments during this ever-busy month of December. It perhaps comes as no surprise that last week’s post, in which I explored the beauty to be found in stillness, was my most popular:Inspirations & Connections | IX. Stillness
As Advent leads to Christmas, let’s allow ourselves to step softly forward, that in the stillness and expectant hopefulness, we might seek those small glimmers of healing light.
A couple of weeks ago, I celebrated my 41st birthday, and in case you missed it, earlier this quarter, I shared some very personal reflections on the past 40 years:
Reaching 40: Time, Place & Acceptance
As I pass a milestone birthday, I ponder the last 40 years. I'm faced with some hard questions, but overall, an acceptance that we journey forward, celebrating being here, in this place, at this time.
At the beginning of 2024, I hadn’t even joined Substack, yet here we are, a wonderful, beautiful and special community of people. Even though the year is drawing to a close, there is still plenty of come this month:
Next week, there’s another edition of Beyond the Notes in which I explore all things chilly and magical. As well as December’s Slow & Simple Moments, there’ll also be some special posts, including Christmas Memories of Simpler Times and one reflecting more broadly on 2024. I’ll also be looking ahead to 2025 with my word for the year and setting some gentle intentions for the 12 months to come.
I’d love you to journey alongside me in this final month of the year.
Thank you so much for sharing this journey with me, for all your likes, comments, shares and recommendations, and I look forward to bringing you more thoughts and reflections in the months and seasons to come.
If you’re not already doing so, I’d love you to follow me over on Instagram. You can also visit the A Life More Creative website, where you can find out more about My Story, and read articles from my online Journal. Subscribe on Substack to receive new posts and to support my work:
Thank you for the mention David. 🙏😊
That's a powerful quote from Carmen "Businesses adjust their goals based on market conditions and team challenges, why do we as individual humans think we need to be more rigid than we need to be?"
Thanks so much for the mention. Your reminder to reflect with gentleness and to accept that time has passed and we did the best we could, really resonated with me. It came at just the right moment!!