The Most Important Year-End Review You're Not Doing
Dec 04, 2025
It's December. Everyone's doing year-end reviews.
Revenue numbers. Goals hit. Promotions earned. Projects completed. Metrics, metrics, metrics.
And look...I get it. Those things matter.
But here's what I've learned: The most important growth you experienced this year won't show up in a spreadsheet.
It shows up in how you handled adversity. How you regulated your emotions. How you healed old patterns. How you showed up for yourself when life got hard.
That's the review that actually matters. And most of us skip right over it.
So today, I want to invite you to do something different.
Let's do an Emotional Audit of your year.
My Emotional Audit of 2025
Earlier this year, in the span of less than two months, my family experienced:
- A house fire
- A car accident
- My computer crashed
It was relentless. And after the car accident (thankfully no injuries), I was left shaken. Anxious. My nervous system was on high alert.
I could have pushed through. Told myself to "just get over it." White-knuckled my way back to normal.
But I didn't. I used my own medicine.
I did EMDR to reprocess the trauma. I used every tool I teach my clients...5/10 breathing, EFT, nervous system regulation, intentional rest, self-compassion.
And it worked.
Now when I think about the accident, there's no emotional charge. No fear response. I can drive my car without being hyper-focused (a classic sign of fight-or-flight). I'm back to my baseline level of peace.
Here's what that experience reminded me:
We have more control over our emotional states than we used to believe.
There ARE tools that work. There IS a path to persistent peace.
You are not stuck with anxiety, overwhelm, or stress as your default state. You can recalibrate. You can heal. You can choose a different baseline.
That's what this year taught me. Not through theory...through lived experience.
Your Turn: The Emotional Audit
Before you jump into 2026 planning, take some time to review your emotional growth in 2025.
Here are the questions I want you to sit with:
1. What was the hardest thing you faced this year?
Not the busiest or most stressful...the thing that truly challenged you emotionally.
2. How did you respond?
Did you push through? Shut down? Ask for help? Use tools you've learned? Repeat old patterns?
3. What did you learn about yourself?
What surprised you about your capacity? Your limits? Your resilience?
4. What patterns are you ready to release?
What ways of coping, thinking, or being no longer serve you?
5. What emotional skill did you strengthen this year?
Maybe it was setting boundaries. Asking for support. Regulating under pressure. Trusting yourself. Celebrating wins.
6. Where do you want to grow emotionally in 2026?
Not what you want to achieve...how you want to FEEL and WHO you want to become.
Why This Matters
Here's the truth: You can't set meaningful 2026 goals without understanding your emotional growth first.
Because if you don't acknowledge how far you've come, you'll keep chasing external achievements to feel worthy.
And if you don't recognize the patterns you're ready to release, you'll repeat them in the new year.
Your emotional state determines your success more than your strategy ever will.
A dysregulated nervous system will sabotage your best-laid plans.
Unhealed trauma will keep you playing small.
Old limiting beliefs will whisper that you're not ready, not enough, not capable.
But when you do the inner work? Everything changes.
You stop reacting and start responding. You lead from clarity instead of chaos. You build a life that feels aligned, not just accomplished.
That's what's possible. And it starts with an honest audit of where you've been and where you're going.
You Have More Power Than You Think
My house fire, car accident, and computer crash could have derailed me for months.
Instead, I recalibrated in weeks.
Not because I'm special. But because I have tools that work. And I'm committed to using them.
You have that same capacity.
You can take control of your emotional state. You can heal what's been holding you back. You can build a life where peace is your baseline, not the exception.
But you have to choose it. You have to audit where you are. And you have to do the work.
So here's my invitation:
Set aside 30 minutes this week. Pour some coffee (or tea). Grab your journal. And do your Emotional Audit.
Answer the questions. Be honest. Celebrate your growth. Name what you're ready to release.
Then, and only then, start thinking about 2026.
What emotional growth are you most proud of from 2025?
All my love,
Stacey
P.S. If you're ready to take control of your emotional state and lead from a place of peace instead of pressure, let's talk. I work with leaders and teams to build the inner tools that make everything else possible.
https://calendly.com/stacey-brake/free-strategy-session-emdr-yt
