What Are You Learning?

Since it’s the end of a year, the end of a decade, I figured I’d jump on the end-of-year-reflection bandwagon and offer up a reflection prompt of my own.

This prompt is inspired by an episode of the podcast The Next Right Thing, created by writer Emily P. Freeman (a podcast I highly recommend, by the way). On this episode, Freeman encourages her listeners to keep a running list of things they’re learning each season of the year. I love this idea, but I’ll be honest: I doubt I’ll be able to remember to keep adding to this list, and I worry I’d forget to check in with it as summer turns to fall, fall to winter, winter to spring.

When I think back over the past year, I have a hard time remembering much of what happened before June 1st. If I remove the pressure of cataloging my lessons into seasons, I feel much more capable of this kind of reflection.

So this month, as I take some time here and there to contemplate what 2019 has taught me, I’m asking myself this broader question:

What have I learned?

If this feels almost too broad, here are a few ways to think about this question:

1. You can think small. My list includes TV shows I loved (Mrs. Maisel! The original 90210!) and even beauty routines (who knew a flat iron could do so much?).

2. You can think big without having to think completely. I’ve learned that big decisions aren’t always easy; in fact, they can be pretty painful. Have I totally made this big decision I’m alluding to? Kind of. Do I feel totally sure that it’s the right one? Nope. That’s okay.

3. You can still be learning it. How to listen. How to trust that I can do hard things. How to befriend my sadness without sacrificing my happiness (it doesn’t have to be a contest).

So that’s it. One simple question as you look back on this year. What have you learned?

Make a list. Anything goes. See? You’re learning so much. The world is ever changing.

Thanks for reading.

Beth