As another year draws to a close, it can be tempting, to wish it gone and hope that next year will be a better year. However I much prefer to look back at what I learned and how I'm going to take those learnings into next year.

Are there moments of the past year that were hard? You bet there was. There have been many moments that have challenged my naturally optimistic mindset. My greatest learning though of the whole year is that time is a precious gift.

Time for myself - I realised I need to make more time for what I want. I have a lot of people who rely on me, but it's so important that you set appropriate boundaries to live the life you deserve. 

I was fortunate to receive coaching over the past year, helping out a friend who was studying her certification, but it really gave me time to think about me. I'm a natural 'fixer' but that can cause me to be overwhelmed, but also have guilt if I don't do something someone asks me to do. So working with my coach I developed the response: I'm willing to help you, but I'm not able to right now. Game changer - the guilt went, the boundaries were set, and I was able to say no confidently. Did it mean I didn't help someone - no? Did it make me feel happier when I did help them? Yes.

I'm still learning - of course I am, we never stop learning. But making time for me has seen me invest in my knowledge and my physical and mental wellbeing. A cup of tea in the morning before everyone else gets up - an underestimated gift of time. But it's not just what we give ourselves, what gift of time can you give others? Sometimes all it takes is send a wee message - just to say hello, to arrange a coffee catch up, or do it virtually. 

So as 2023 draws to a close, I'm spending time with some very special women in my life, and I'll be going to bed before the bells because I start 1 January off with a Setting Intentions Workshop with Grit Wellbeing Coach in Falkirk and then heading to the gym, before preparing for a New Year's Dinner with the family. Taking the gift of time forward.

Here's to even greater learnings in 2024...

Image: I took the above image in Shetland earlier this year, sitting outside my campervan basking in the sun (yes I kid you not), looking out over the marina at Brae.