3 Questions to Help You Close Out 2025 With Clarity

The end of the year can sneak up on all of us, especially when you spend most of your time supporting others. If you work in the careers sector or you are a Registered Career Development Professional, you will know exactly what I mean. We are brilliant at asking powerful questions, creating space for reflection, and helping people navigate complexity, but how often do we offer that same care and curiosity to ourselves?

By December, the combination of constant delivery, heavy caseloads, organisational change, targets, stakeholder demands, exams, transitions and everything else can leave even the most experienced practitioners feeling a bit wrung out. Overwhelm is common, and so is the sense of “Have I actually achieved anything this year?”

You are not alone, and the good news is that you are also not stuck.

A gentle year end reset can help you reconnect with what you have done well, recognise where you have grown, and step into 2026 with a clearer head and a stronger sense of direction. It does not need to be complicated. Sometimes it starts with just a few well chosen questions.

Here are three simple, powerful prompts that will help you reflect with intention, not judgement.

1. What am I proud of from this year?

Let us start here, because this question is surprisingly hard for people in the careers profession.

We are conditioned to focus on others:

• “How can I help this client move forward?”

• “What is the next intervention?”

• “What is the best route for them?”

But rarely do we pause to acknowledge our own professional impact.

This prompt is not about perfection or polished outcomes. It is about honesty. Think about:

• moments you handled something difficult with grace

• clients or learners who made progress because of your support

• skills you strengthened without even realising

• sessions, conversations or workshops that genuinely mattered

• decisions you made that were right for you

You might surprise yourself.

If you have been firefighting all year, this question can bring you back to solid ground. It shifts the narrative from “I should have done more” to “Here are the ways I showed up well.”

Gentle challenge: Do not brush this off with something vague like “I did my best.” Push a little deeper.

Name specifics. You deserve to see the evidence of your own growth.

2. What do I want to leave behind as I head into 2026?

This question is where clarity starts.

It invites you to recognise what is no longer serving you, without guilt, overthinking or self criticism.

For many careers professionals, this might include:

• overcommitting

• saying yes out of obligation, not alignment

• absorbing clients’ emotional load

• people pleasing

• trying to fix everything

• working reactively rather than intentionally

• carrying constant background worry

You do not need to have the perfect solution. The power of this question comes from simply naming the patterns that feel heavy, draining or unsustainable.

This does not mean you failed. It means you are self aware. Awareness is the first step to doing things differently.

Gentle challenge: Be honest but kind. Think of this as decluttering your mental workspace, not criticising yourself.

3. What do I want to take with me into the new year?

If you have felt overwhelmed, tired or stretched thin at times this year, this question can feel unexpectedly grounding.

It shifts the focus away from “what went wrong” and highlights the things that did support you, lift you, energise you or move you forward.

This could include:

• a habit you started and actually enjoyed

• a boundary that helped you stay afloat

• a relationship, colleague or community that supported you

• a mindset shift that changed how you saw your work

• tools, processes or routines that made life easier

• small wins that deserve to be celebrated

These are your anchors. Your evidence of resilience. Your foundation for the year ahead.

Gentle challenge: Choose no more than three. When everything is a priority, nothing is.

Why this kind of reflection matters (especially for careers professionals)

People in the career development sector give a lot: emotionally, mentally and professionally. You are trained to listen deeply, hold space, ask powerful questions and guide people through uncertainty.

That is meaningful work. It can also be draining.

Reflection is not a luxury or a nice to have. It is a form of professional care.

Taking time to step back helps you:

• reconnect with your purpose

• recognise your contribution

• build confidence

• prevent burnout

• refine your direction

• enter the new year on your terms, not on autopilot

It is also the first stage of the FocusWorks method: Think, Feel, Do. Before you take action, you need clarity. Before you set goals, you need self awareness. Before you make changes, you need grounding.

Reflection is the Think stage, and it matters more than people realise.

A kinder way to close the year

These three questions do not require a full afternoon, a perfect journal, or a silent room with a candle (although no judgement if that is your vibe). They simply ask you to be present with yourself for a moment.

The truth is simple: You have done more this year than you are giving yourself credit for.

You have held difficult conversations. You have supported learners and clients through uncertainty. You have adapted to change. You have navigated personal challenges while still showing up professionally. You have grown, even if you have not noticed it happening.

And you deserve to recognise that.

What to do next

If these questions resonated with you, I’ll be sharing more tools, strategies and resources to help you enter 2026 feeling grounded, confident and focused. This includes a new resource to help you plan your year using the Think, Feel, Do method.

You can:

• follow along on LinkedIn or Instagram

• sign up for updates once the FocusWorks website launches

• join one of my free taster webinars in January

You do not need to do everything alone, and you do not need a huge plan to feel more in control.

Sometimes you just need the right questions.