The End of The Year Checkpoint

The Christmas season and the end of the year can feel heavy and emotional.

It forces us to take a real look at where we are in our lives. Whether we mean to or not, we compare ourselves to last year. It’s almost like a checkpoint, a moment where we’re confronted with the truth and asked to look at where we stand right now.

Are we happy?

Did we do the things we said we would do?

Are we living an authentic life we’re actually proud of?

Or are we still hiding behind a mask?

Some of us have had to completely start over. Rebuild our entire lives from the ground up. And when we look around, we realise a lot of the main characters are gone.

That can feel scary. Lonely. It can make us question ourselves, like maybe we failed, like the people who were here last year should still be standing beside us.

But when we look deeper, the truth shows itself: those people were no longer serving us. And that’s exactly why they’re no longer here.

And if you look again, you’ll notice something else, new characters. Quality characters. Not “main” characters… because this time, we are the main character.

That realisation can be confronting. Even painful.

But once it clicks, it’s powerful.

Yes, we’ve been through pain. Through things we thought would break us, but instead, they broke us open. And if we pause at this checkpoint for a moment, we can actually see how far we’ve come.

Somehow, along the way, even after losing titles, statuses, and friendships, we found ourselves again.

Slowly, we’ve started creating the life we actually want. A life where we say no to anything and everything that no longer serves us.

Change is scary. But the truth is, nothing is scarier than staying exactly where you were last year.

Nothing is worse than being stuck in a life that isn’t truly you, knowing you’re not where you’re meant to be and choosing to stay anyway. That feeling slowly kills your soul. And even if you don’t notice it at first, staying stuck will always hurt more than being brave enough to stand up for yourself and make the hard changes.

Because the reality is this: we have one life. One shot. And we don’t even know how long we get to live it.

If today were your last day, would you be proud of where you stand?

Have you chosen yourself?

Have you done the hard but brave things to be here?

And it may all still feel heavy, that’s normal. This isn’t a race. You aren’t being timed. You may still be in the in-between building away but look at what you’ve already survived. Look at the choices you’ve had the courage to make. You are already stronger because of them.

The in-between isn’t forever but it is the test. Keep taking steps forward, no matter how small. You might face the same lesson again and again. That’s okay. Lessons repeat until they’re learned.

You’ve still got this.

There’s no turning back now.

Every setback is a lesson. Don’t beat yourself up, accept it, learn from it, and keep moving forward. Keep walking. Keep choosing yourself. You’ll get exactly where you’re meant to be.

And before you know it, you’ll be back at this checkpoint again, comparing who you were then to who you are now.

Count your wins. Honour your growth. Rest when you need to. Dream bigger. And keep walking,

unapologetically, in the direction that serves you.

Choose you. Everytime.

Nanette