Happy New Year!
As 2024 came to an end, I spent a fair bit of time reflecting on the year and all the ups and downs. For me, it was probably one of the most life-changing years yet and I learned so much, about life, about myself and about what I need and want in order to be the best version of myself, to be happy and to fulfil my dreams.
I thought it might be useful to share with you all 24 lessons I learnt in 2024. Some of these I have learnt and started to implement. Others are what I will be working on embodying in 2025. (These are marked with an asterisk).
- Surrender Leads to Growth: You can’t control everything. Embracing surrender and letting go of control can open doors to opportunities far beyond what you imagined. Trust the process and release control in areas that feel uncertain. It will all work out exactly as it should even if you can’t imagine how.
- Prioritize Balance*: To excel in one area of your life you need balance. You need to set firm boundaries between work, family, and personal time and nurture your own well-being.
- Delegate More*: You can do everything, but not all at the same time. Delegating tasks allows you to free up time for creativity and big-picture thinking.
- Have Faith: You wouldn’t have been given a dream if you weren’t capable of achieving it. Have faith in yourself, your ability to achieve it and the fact that you deserve it.
- Fear is a Liar: Fear is an evolutionary mechanism to keep you safe and keep you alive. Ask yourself if there is a real threat of danger. If not fear is lying to you and you don’t have to listen. Thank it for trying to keep you safe and do the thing anyway.
- Resilience is Key: Resilience is key to being able to adapt to and recover from difficult situations, or to “bounce back” from challenges. Developing resilience is easier when you have supportive relationships and a community.
- Community is a Superpower: Everything is easier in community. We were never meant to do it all alone. Find yourself a community and support network!
- Boundaries Are Empowering*: Boundaries are empowering for everyone. People like boundaries as we all know where we stand. Setting boundaries is healthy.
- Courage Breeds Confidence: Courage is the ability to do something even when you’re afraid or faced with obstacles. Don’t wait to feel confident before starting. Confidence comes after you have started doing the thing.
- Small Wins are Still Wins: It’s important to take note of all the wins no matter how small. Success comes from lots of little wins adding up over time.
- Start Where You Are: You will never feel ready. There is always more to learn and more preparation you can do. Start where you are now with the resources you have at hand and trust that you will learn and improve as you go.
- Rest is Productive*: You can’t be on and productive all the time. Rest is not lazy. Rest is necessary for us to be able to perform at our best.
- Saying No is Important*: It’s ok to say no to opportunities that aren’t for you. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
- Changing Your Mind is OK*: Just because it seemed like a good idea once doesn’t mean you have to stick to it and see it through. If it’s no longer for you, it’s ok to give it up.
- Outsourcing is not a Weakness*: Just because you are capable of doing something, doesn’t mean you should. If it drains your time and energy and stops you from doing something that you enjoy or that will have more impact, it’s ok to outsource it.
- Systems are Important*: Not having systems in place is a great way to sabotage your success.
- Community Builders Deserve Support too*: Just because you are used to being the one who supports everyone else in your community, doesn’t mean you don’t deserve the same support as the leader.
- People like to Help*: Accepting help doesn’t make you a burden on people. Other people like to help just like you do and by refusing their help you are doing them a disservice.
- Creativity Requires Rest*: You can’t be at your most creative when you are exhausted and burnt out. Creativity comes when you give yourself space and time.
- Rest is not Selfish*: Taking time to look after yourself is not selfish. You can only be the best version of yourself when you are well-rested and replenished.
- Your Needs Matter*: What you need for yourself is just as important as what others need. Prioritising your own needs is not selfish.
- Your Children are Watching*: As a mother, you are role modelling for your children. What are you teaching them if you are not looking after yourself and your own needs. What lessons are they learning from watching you? Make sure you are role-modelling the right behaviours.
- Joy is in the Little Moments: Happiness is a choice. If we are always waiting for the big moments of joy we are missing out. Look for the small glimmers in the everyday. There is so much joy all around if we look for it.
- When Everything Feels Like it’s Falling Apart, it’s Actually Rebuilding Better than You Can Even Imagine: Sometimes everything needs to completely fall apart before you can come back stronger.
I’d love to know what 2024 taught you so please do share your lessons in the comments. You never know, it might just be the breakthrough someone else needs to hear today!
Stacey Sheppard is the founder of The Tribe, a small community-driven coworking space in Totnes that caters to creative, growth-oriented female entrepreneurs by providing an inspiring working environment designed to foster collaboration, connection and community.
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