Taking Stock

It is time to embark on a New Year - 2021. This is the time when it’s tradition to identify new goals, new ways of thinking, and new ways of being. It’s also common for people to think back over the year that is about to end – successes, challenges, maybe failures, and everything in between.

It is a good thing to evaluate areas of growth. It is also a good thing that we can do this often, more than just once a year. A mentor of mine used to encourage me regularly to think about what I learned each day. There is always an opportunity to learn something new, personally and professionally. 

Evaluating progress is especially crucial for organizational success. In my experiences in mental health and human service organizations, I have observed it is not always a priority to have an ongoing quantitative and/or qualitative review of goals and services, and if there is an effort to do so, it is not always fully or consistently integrated into processes or utilized for making changes or improvements. Yet, it is necessary to ask some extremely important questions:  

What are your goals?

What services support your goals?

What communication is utilized to support growth?

What are your outcomes?

What are the challenges?

What is working well?

These and other questions unique to your business or organization are crucial for measuring growth and success. Similar questions can be reflected on for personal and professional growth. It is never too early or too late to take stock of where you are and where you want to be, and what it might take for you to get there.

Throughout the year or at different seasons of your life, it is normal to face challenges, setbacks, and disappointments. During these times, we are often putting our efforts on navigating these issues and may not take the time to see the strengths or qualities we possessed in overcoming difficulties.

What skills, gifts, and/or abilities do you possess?

How can they help you to achieve your goals?

We want to take stock of these as well because they are the personal resources we have to support our growth and success.

All the best to you and your families for all of the new seasons in your life!   

I’d love to hear from you. Feel free to share a comment or reach out if you’d like to connect, have questions, or are interested in partnering. 

Healthy Messages™ helps professionals, leaders, and business owners in human services improve, craft, and implement communication within and across systems. 

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