As 2024 winds down, I have to realise and concede to the fact that I was not able to keep up with my goals of writing regularly. While Slow & Steady, this newsletter, was always meant to be an occasional occurrence, I hoped to publish at least one article every 6-8 weeks. I kept the rhythm for a little more than a year, but then life and work got hectic, and writing took a backseat.
Now that the Christmas season is here, I finally have the mental space to sit down and write again. It’s the perfect time to reconnect with this habit after what has been a stressful, chaotic, but ultimately rewarding year.
Taking Stock of the Journey
The end of the year is a natural time to pause and reflect. For me, this often means writing a yearly recap for the appointmed blog—a chance to reflect on the highlights and challenges of the past 12 months.
It’s surprising how difficult this can be. When you’re caught up in the daily grind, it’s easy to lose yourself in the trenches. Deadlines pile up, projects demand attention, and customer requests always seem to need an immediate reply.
Building a business feels like climbing a mountain. The summit is always in view, urging you to push harder and faster. But every so often, it’s worth stopping to catch your breath and appreciate the view—because those moments of reflection can remind you just how far you’ve already come.
I'll admit, I also don't do this nearly often enough.
A Year of Achievements
But as I look back on the past year now, I’m reminded of just how much we accomplished—far more than we initially set out to do. Sure, some projects stretched longer than expected, and a few had to be shelved entirely. That’s all part of the journey.
This year, we launched an online magazine for therapists—a brand-new publishing venture. We hired an experienced editor to lead it full-time, rolled out over 20 software updates with countless new features and improvements, and exceeded our revenue goal for 2024 way ahead of schedule in the middle of Q3. We also made great progress on our next product, which will come out in 2025. Most importantly, though, we avoided any major setbacks, whether technical or personal.
Celebrate Your Progress
So here’s my advice to you: While climbing your own personal or professional mountain, try to pause every so often and look around to enjoy the view from where you are right now.
Do it more often than you think is necessary, because I promise—it’s not nearly enough. When you step back and reflect, you start to notice the small victories and quiet progress that might otherwise go unacknowledged. Celebrating this progress, no matter how small, is what keeps you going for the long haul.
