Three Thoughts for Thursday ~ December 2024

~ Reflections and Appreciation ~

Reflection, celebration, light, joy, dark calm, and gentle musing are what I have come to connect with and love about December. There is a reminder in the cold, dark mornings and the glow of holiday lights to begin to slow down, to reflect and celebrate the year, and to process and ponder the learnings and lessons. There is a cold, crisp air, along with quiet, starlight, coziness, and peace, that calms me and prepares me for the purpose of winter in nature, a time of dormancy, going inward, rebuilding, preparing, that I have come to appreciate.  With that in mind, rather than offering new content this month, I am getting cozy and reading Louise Hay’s book, You Can Heal Your Life, and Colm Toibin’s book, Long Island, for something lighter, and I am reflecting and relaxing. I am reflecting on my thoughts, ponderings, and wanderings, where I’ve been, the books I’ve read, the podcasts I’ve listened to, and the life I’ve lived this past year. I am appreciating and celebrating the path traveled. I am pausing to soak in the glow of the lights, the laughter, and the love of the holiday season. I am slowing down.

As you reflect on 2024, here are some questions to consider: 
What are you celebrating? What were your wins? What were your learnings? What are you most proud of? Where did the journey take you, and what was expected vs. unexpected? How did you grow? What are you taking with you as you continue the journey? What might you wish to discard to lessen the load going forward?  What are you still seeking?

Thank you for traveling with me through 2024! I am grateful for your company, support, and connections.

Below is a summary of where we’ve been, and a little preview of the list of books that I’ve been putting together for 2025!

Happy holidays! May you be filled with the glow of celebrating your journey and the beauty of all you are building and creating!

Quotes I’ve Pondered and Continue to Consider:

What is the difference between “I like you” and “I love you”?

“When you like a flower, you just pluck it. But when you love a flower, you water it daily..! One who understands this, understands life.”
~ Buddha

“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”
~ James Baldwin

“Change. But start slowly, because direction is more important than speed.”
~ Paulo Coelho

“Whenever a transition is called for, view it as your soul knocking at the door of your life, bearing more gifts for you to bring to the world. Change is a call from your soul to grow.”
~ Sonia Choquette

People do not decide their futures, they decide their habits and their habits decide their futures.
~ F.M. Alexander ~

“You don’t need to be perfect to inspire others. Let people get inspired by how you deal with your imperfections.”
~ Paulo Coelho

“The world is changed by your example, not by your opinion.”
~ Paulo Coelho

“Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you’ll look back and realize they were the big things.”
~ Kurt Vonnegut

“If you spend your time chasing butterflies, they’ll fly away. But if you spend your time making a beautiful garden, the butterflies will come to you. 

When you focus on improving yourself, everything you want will come to you. We attract based on who we are, not what we want.

Don’t chase, attract.”

~Mario Quintana
Brazilian Poet

“It’s not the load that weighs you down, it’s the way you carry it.”
~ C.S. Lewis ~
 
“Happiness happens on the way to fulfillment” 
~ Gary Keller ~

“The very secret of life for me, I believed, was to maintain in the midst of rushing events an inner tranquility.”
~ Margaret Bourke-White

“Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.”
~ John Wooden

“You do not have to feel truer than others in order to be original. You just need to be different and keep aspiring to be a better you.”
~Toba Beta

“The authentic self is the soul made visible.”
~ Sarah Ban Breathnach

“When we are willing to stay even a moment with uncomfortable energy, we gradually learn not to fear it.”
~ Pema Chodron

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”
~ Nelson Mandela

“To learn to be always in a state of meditation means never to let your vital energy wane. You would never allow it to do so if it were certain that you were to die tomorrow. It wanes because you forget about death. Grit your teeth, fix your gaze, and observe death at this moment. You have to feel it so strongly that it seems as if it’s attacking you. Fearless energy comes from this. At this moment, death is right before your eyes. It’s not something you can afford to neglect.” 
— Suzuki Shōsan (1579–1655)

Podcasts I’ve Featured:

How to Set & Achieve Goals: 2 Surprising Science-Backed Steps You Must Follow
The Mel Robbins Podcast
Hosted by Mel Robbins

The Good Life Project
Hosted by Jonathan Fields
How to Love and Be Loved, Episode #977

Sparked
Hosted By Jonathan Fields
How to Stop Playing Small (or too safe)
February 26, 2024
When Vision Meets Reality: Adjusting Your Plans to What Matters
February 19, 2024

The Tim Ferriss Show  – 648: James Clear, Atomic Habits — Simple Strategies for Building (and Breaking) Habits, Questions for Personal Mastery and Growth, Tactics for Writing and Launching a Mega-Bestseller, Finding Leverage, and More
Hosted by Tim Ferris

Shatter Your LIMITING BELIEFS: 3 Secrets to UPLEVEL Your GROWTH MINDSET
The School of Greatness
Hosted by Lewis Howes

How to Stop Overthinking and Dial Down Chatter with Emiliya Zhivotovskaya
The Good Life Podcast 
Hosted by Jonathan Fields

How to Get Unstuck: Do This to Create the Future You Want
The Mel Robbins Podcast with Dr. Adam Alter, Author of The Anatomy of a Breakthrough: How to Get Unstuck When it Matters Most

How to Be Happy and The Science of Cognitive Time Travel
Plain English
Hosted by Derek Thompson with Guest, Laurie Santos

What Children Can Teach Us About Creativity
A Slight Change in Plans
Hosted by Maya Shankar, with guest, Alison Gopnik

The Gathering Room Podcast
Hosted by Martha Beck
Letting Rest Do the Work – September 26, 2024
Listen Again: There’s Less to Do Than You Think – October 2, 2024
Listen Again: Igniting your Purpose – October 9, 2024

7 Things I Do When Life Feels Chaotic, Episode #387
The Lazy Genius Podcast, October 14, 2024
Hosted by Kendra Adachi

Books I’ve Read and Featured:

 The Way of Integrity: Finding the Path to Your True Self
By Martha Beck
 How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen
By David Brooks
 Waking Up White, and Finding Myself in the Story of Race
By Debby Irving
A Year of Zen: A 52-Week Guided Journal
By Bonnie Myotai Treace
 Atomic Habits
By James Clear
Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence
By Anna Lembke, MD
 The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results
By Gary Keller with Jay Papasan
the dip: A little book that teaches you when to quit (and when to stick)
By Seth Godin
 Wired to Create: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Creative Mind
By Scott Barry Kaufman
 Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World                                       
By Adam Grant
 The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness
By Jonathan Haidt
 52 Lists for Bravery: Journaling Inspiration for Courage, Resilience, and Inner Strength
By Moorea Seal
Motivational Interviewing: Helping People Change and Grow
By William R. Miller, PhD, and Stephan Rollnick

Preview of books I’m considering for 2025…

The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga
The Fearless Organization by Amy Edmomdson
Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment without Burnout by Cal Newport
The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward by Daniel Pink
Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How it Can Transform Your Life by Dacher Keltner
Fluke: Chance, Chaos, and Everything We Do Matters by Brian Klaas
The Positivity Effect: Simple CBT Skills to Transform Anxiety and Negativity into Optimism and Hope by Dan Tomasulo, PhD, and Lisa Miller, PhD
Imposter No More: Overcome Self-Doubt and Imposterism to Cultivate a Successful Career by Jill Stoddard, PhD
Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself: How to Lose Your Mind and Create a New One by Dr. Joe Dispenza  
Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May
Don’t Believe Everything You Think: Why Your Thinking is the Beginning and End of Suffering by Joseph Nguyen
The Little Book of Self-Care: 30 Practices to Soothe the Body and Mind by Suzy Reading
Resilient: How to Grow an Unshakable Core of Calm, Strength and Happiness by Rick Hanson, PhD
The Biology of Belief by Bruce H. Lipton, PhD

Photographic reflections of some of the highlights…

~

You can sign up to receive my Three Thoughts for Thursday post as an email on the third Thursday of every month by clicking here.  If you’ve missed any of my Three Thoughts, you can find them all on my blog.  If you enjoyed this post, take a look at November’s Three Thoughts. You may also be interested in reading my four-part Lessons of the Run series – Endurance, Resilience, Rest, and Grit. Take a look at my latest post, “YOU are the MISSING Piece!” and stay tuned for an update to this piece, along with a recent and new 5^th Lesson of the Run – Humility and Adaptability!

If you are interested or know someone who may be interested, I also offer leadership and emotional intelligence coaching and workshops. You can find more information on my website, or you can use this link to set up a free 30-minute introduction to coaching session.
 
I continue to have the privilege of hosting the Emotional Intelligence Special Interest Group for ICFLA.  We kicked off our 2024 explorations and learning journey on February 27th with guest Dr. Heather Backstrom, author of Collaborative Confidence, who presented on “Using Stakeholder Mapping to Help Clients Enhance Self-Awareness.”  On May 28^th, we explored The Relevance of EI in the Workplace and Exploring and Supporting Confidence in Our Clients, with guest, Irené Turtle, Executive and Team Coach. I was the host and speaker for our August 27th session, “Decision-Making and Anxiety in the Workplace.” We closed out the year on October 22^nd with Dr. Sohee Jun as our guest, as she joined me for a fireside chat-style talk about “How to Be” vs. “Who We Are”: Confidence and Authenticity in the Workplace. You do not need to be a coach or a member of ICFLA to attend these sessions. Please join me for our sessions in 2025!!!
  
If you are interested in joining and co-creating these learning communities, please use the links above to learn more about ICFLA’s Emotional Intelligence Special Interest Group and the Women’s Events. I hope you will come along for the journey!
 
I’m always looking for new inspiration, new books to read, and new podcasts to listen to, so please send your suggestions my way or comment on this post to offer some new recommendations!
 
As always, thank you for your continued support and readership! Stay strong, stay brave, stay true to you!
 
Wishing you a season of light, celebration, reflection, appreciation, deep calm, joy, and hope! Thank you for being a part of my journey!