Your Essential Year-End Reset

26 snips

Dec 8, 2025

The hosts dive into the importance of year-end reflection, focusing on what worked and what didn’t over the past months. They discuss leveraging personal wins and acknowledging disappointments while completing the stress cycle. Techniques like using photos to jog memories and understanding avoidance as a clue for change are highlighted. Regret is reframed as a chance for do-overs, and listeners are encouraged to carry valuable lessons into the new year. Ultimately, self-compassion is emphasized in the journey of reflection and growth.

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INSIGHT

Negativity Bias Hides The Year’s Wins

Our brains overemphasize negative events due to negativity bias, which skews our view of the year.
Intentionally recalling wins counters scarcity thinking and reveals overlooked positive moments.

ADVICE

Use Photos And Planners As Memory Triggers

Look through your phone photos to reliably surface joyful moments you otherwise forget.
Use your planner's checkmarks as prompts to remember achievements and rebuild an accurate positive record.

ANECDOTE

Paid Off Credit Card Debt With Weekly Budgeting

Marissa shared she fully eliminated her credit card debt this year through weekly budgeting with YNAB.
She prioritized consistent tracking and still lived her life while accelerating payments.

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2025 probably didn’t go according to plan—and that’s exactly why it’s worth paying attention to. In this episode, Marissa and Joel walk you through a simple reflection process for the last 11 months: naming what worked, facing what hurt, and deciding what you actually want to carry into 2026. You’ll learn how to work with your brain’s negativity bias, complete the stress cycle in your body, reframe regret as a helpful signal, and distill the year into a handful of lessons you can build on.

Key Takeaways

Start with What Worked. Brain dump the last 11 months and name your wins—at work and at home. Use your camera roll and planner as prompts to remember moments you’d otherwise overlook. Let those checkmarks and snapshots remind you: it wasn’t all bad.
Don’t Waste the Bruises. List what didn’t go well—disappointments, losses, and the “mixed bag” moments. Instead of reliving them, acknowledge what happened, name the emotions, and ask what still needs to be grieved or processed so you’re not dragging raw hurt into 2026.
Pay Attention to Avoidance. Notice the projects, tasks, or conversations you kept procrastinating. Treat that dread as data: Is this a skills gap, a misfit task you shouldn’t own, or something that needs to be rethought entirely? Avoidance is often a clue about what needs to change next year.
Let Regret Invite a Do-Over. Treat regret as an “open loop,” not a verdict. If something from 2025 still nags at you, ask, “What unfinished business is this pointing to?” Look for one concrete action—an apology, a boundary, a new habit—that lets you close the loop instead of carrying it forward.
Distill the Year into a Few Core Lessons. Turn all of this into simple statements you can act on, like: “My days go best when I start with a plan,” or “I can’t love well when I’m out of balance.” Those lessons become your guardrails and fuel as you design your goals and rhythms for 2026.

Watch on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/hdmL3mfAyrc

This episode was produced by Sarah Vorhees Wendel of VW Sound