Susan Manning
3 min readDec 21, 2021

End of Year Gratitude for Career Success…….

As we head towards the end of the year the social pressure will start to build to make New Year’s resolutions and set personal and career goals for the coming year.

However, before I do any New Year goal setting — I first like to make time to reflect back on my year and recognise what has gone well for me, what am I most proud of and what did I learn about myself.

One of the most commonly used and therapeutic ways to reflect is to write it out. Getting it all down on paper can really give you a completely different perspective on things. It can be an incredible way to help you understand yourself and the world you operate in. And the magic of writing it out is that it can still be effective if you only do it once a year; as part of your end of year gratitude exercise.

I believe, before we can start a new beginning, it is good to show respect to the past and recognise all the good that has happened. Like anyone, I have made mistakes and poor decisions but nothing good ever comes from getting stuck in the past and over analysing my actions and feelings. I much prefer to be thankful for every situation and recognise the learnings it gave me.

In positive psychology research, gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness, as it is a very simple way to access appreciation in our life and being grateful is something I continually strive to be more of.

I have found that the more gratitude I feel in life, the more I’m better able to see the positive side of situations, and the more fulfilled I feel. What’s more, research has also shown that gratitude can positively impact our well-being. Check out these 7 Scientifically Proven Benefits of Gratitude from Psychology Today:

To help you develop an end of year gratitude exercise, please give yourself the gift of 20 minutes’ relaxation and reflect on your 2020 by answering the questions below:

· What 5 things are you most grateful for as you look back over 2020?

· What are you most proud of yourself in 2020?

· What was your best decision?

· What did you learn most about yourself in 2020?

· What advice will you give yourself going into 2021?

I would love to hear what you are most proud of in your career in 2021? What resonated with you when you read this article? Please email me at: susan@susanmanning.ie

Wishing you a wonderful Holiday and continuous Career Success in 2022.

In only 12 weeks you can develop your skills more to become an HR Trusted Advisor? If you would like to learn more have a look at the link here to my award-winning signature program: https://susanmanning.ie/hr-coaching-program/

Susan Manning

Leadership Consultant and Clarity Coach — Providing essential CLARITY for greater effectiveness in a chaotic world. www.susanmanning.ie