Welcome to October! It’s the beginning of the fourth quarter of the year and Fall is in the air. Q3 was a doozy professionally speaking with me changing roles at work and becoming a member of a new team once again, which seems to be a way of life for me in my industry as things are constantly evolving. This team is nothing like the work I’ve ever done before up til now, so it’s been a challenge to say the least. Even still, I’m taking the time to discover the lesson in the challenges I’ve faced and/or are facing in that regard. I look to God to guide my path and I know that He would not put me somewhere, I’m not supposed to be at any given time. I’ve been so blessed up to this point in life, so I’m surrendering to His will and allowing my mind to be at rest in that, knowing that nothing ever really stays the same. The only thing constant and inevitable is change, however, growth is optional. The choice is yours.

Using the sports analogy, games are often won or lost in the fourth quarter – how will you spend yours this year? What things will you nurture? What plans will you put in place as we get closer to 2024, knowing what you know now and based on the learnings you’ve gained?

Assessment time: Speaking of which, I just finished my year end work self-assessment for this fiscal. This is something we do at my company annually at the end of the fiscal, each September. It’s now time to round it out and bring it home on the personal tip for 2023.

Checking in – have you accomplished what you set out to accomplish in 2023? Can you still do some things that will aid in your fulfillment in these last 3 months? We often learn best from our mistakes. If you don’t feel as though you accomplished your goals this year yet, I encourage spending time thinking about what’s preventing you from accomplishing all you had hoped, identify areas where you can improve over the next three months or start to pre-plan for next year with real strategies in mind. Did your goals shift due to other responsibilities or were you distracted in some way? In terms of the latter, was it you or some external force preventing you from accomplishing your goals or little bit of both? What can you do now to still accomplish your goals or to prevent this from happening moving forward in the coming year? Identifying these things will keep us self-aware and conscious of roadblocks to mitigate them in the future.

We all face unforeseen occurrences that cause us to ponder and look within for deeper meaning or insight. Also what might seem as unforeseen to us, is not unforeseen by the Universe. What are some of the things you faced this year that could have been messages from the Universe or from a higher power, God – for those who believe.

Were there relationships or physical loses among people or even loved-ones, where you can identify the deeper meaning of it, seeing the good in that loss or disconnection? What did you learn from it? There was a time (not long ago), when I would get all bent out of shape if someone left my life for some weird known or unknown reason. I’m glad to report that this is no longer the case because I understand the way the Universe works now. Whether it be friends, love interests or family, the same holds true; And as the saying goes…people come into our lives for a reason , a season or a lifetime. This year I truly learned and am now actually appreciating this, as some people aren’t meant to be in our lives forever. We must make room for those that the Universe is ready to put in our lives next. How exciting is that? Once we accept and realize that people are in our lives for a specific purpose our lives will be that much better, knowing that once that purpose is fulfilled, it’s time to move on. Who were those people for you this year? Instead of mourning it, celebrate that next step that’s about to take place in your life. Take the time in this last quarter to assess the role they played in your growth and development as the person you’re ultimately meant to be. How will the time they were in your life affect who you are. Think of it as a class. When the semester is over, rejoice in it. It means you’ve passed that course. It’s crossed off your curriculum. Its time to continue matriculating through life and look forward to what’s next.

Anecdotally speaking, I had an old acquaintance ask me this year via text; “Can you tell me why our friendship ended?” In responding, I went into this long (unnecessary) explanation of feelings I had at the time the Universe determined it was best we take a break from each other, but after doing so, and after further reflecting on God’s purpose, my explanation was pointless – because the Universe confirmed, even after me responding – partially in an attempt to rekindle the relationship – there was no response to me offering to meet up. They simply declined further engagement after the initial acknowledgment of my reasoning. Although I thought the non-response was petty, the Universe reminded me of the – reason | season | lifetime mantra; And with that I wish them well, pray for their success, and move on to whatever is next in my matriculation through life.

I learned a valuable lesson here. When people do something dishonorable to you, make it known (if you so wish – but it’s totally fine if you don’t), pray about it and move on with good intentions. Release yourself from it, not forcing anything. There’s also another saying, “if you love something, let it go and if it was meant for you, it’ll come back.” It has taken me this long with a couple more similar experiences for this to finally click. Repetition is sometimes a good thing. Although hearing this for a large portion if my life, I wish I’d learned it years ago, as I would’ve spared myself a lot of heartache along the way. I can now say that I’ve passed this class and learned this lesson. No more repeats necessary. The universe never fails us, it just makes us repeat lessons until it’s learned and we’ve successfully passed.

Moving along with Q4, were their gains made in this regard? Did you love someone or something so much that you were inclined to let it go? Has something returned that you let go of previously? Did a long lost friend, loved one or relative reemerge into your life this year? If so, what did you learn from your journey apart ? Why are you grateful for the return? Will the lessons learned make it more fulfilling this time around? Recognize the testimony in that.

Lastly, both good and bad habits creep into our lives seemingly from nowhere. What habits did you gain and/or lose in 2023? Are these habits you’ll keep, or are they better off left in this year?