I hope that as you reflect on the past year, you take the time to appreciate how you’ve changed, where you’ve grown, and noted areas of your life where you wish to push yourself a little further.
As the year rounds out, I’m thinking about all the ways my life has changed —the perspectives, frameworks, and mindsets that helped get me here, and how different they feel from where I was just a year ago. Many of my beliefs have shifted significantly, and that wouldn’t have been possible without the great authors, thinkers, and speakers whose work I’ve been drinking in along the way.
The articles, podcasts, and books below have made great impacts on me and I wanted to take the opportunity to share them. These perspectives helped shift my frameworks, explore more deeply elements I hadn’t previously considered, and rethink how I allocate my time, money, and energy.
Many of these ideas stretched my ability to think about certain topics—especially in areas where I had been rigid or quick to reject perspectives that didn’t align with how I’d always thought. What I’ve come to recognize is that much of my thinking for most of my life was rooted in fear in attempts to keep myself “safe.”
Our brains are wired to protect us by keeping us within what we know and shielding us from the unknown. But the unknown is where growth happens—where we test ourselves, become a little bolder, and expand what we believe is possible.
That process isn’t always comfortable. It doesn’t always feel safe, and it isn’t always successful. But what I’ve been grateful to learn is that through discomfort, there has been real growth. I’ve been able to reshape beliefs I once held tightly and move towards things I previously shied away from.
As the year comes to an end, I’m thankful to see how far I’ve come—not just to set goals for the year ahead, but to acknowledge the growth that’s already happened. It hasn’t been a smooth ride, but it also wasn’t as hard as I once made myself believe.
This is by no way a comprehensive list—just a simple end-of-year roundup. I’ve categorized these resources in a way that I hope is helpful. Maybe something here helps you find a new angle, a mindset reset, or a system that supports what you’re working toward next year.
Progress isn’t linear, and even when it doesn’t feel like much is changing, looking back often reveals just how far you’ve come. Be proud of yourself for everything you’ve become this year, for all the efforts you’ve been putting in. And if you need a little motivation or a reminder of your worth, there’s a wealth of support below to help you inch a little bit closer to the version of yourself you want to become.
Mindset
Self-Talk and Self-Worth
- Dr. Ethan Kross
- Dr. Ethan Kross discusses the harmful impacts of negative self-talk and how we can retrain ourselves to turn rumination into positive self-coaching in his interview with Mel Robbins: How to Stop Negative Thoughts and Reset Your Mind for Positive Thinking.
- Brene Brown
- Brene Brown uncovers her own vulnerability when she discovers that shame and issues with self-worth are what keeps us disconnected in this Ted Talk.
- Mimi Bouchard
- Mimi is the Founder and CEO of the Activations App, a digital wellness tool that offers hundreds of ‘activations’ or affirmations of various categories, moods and lengths. In this interview she explains the science behind manifestation and what most of us are getting wrong when we try to make changes in our lives and the mental shifts we can make for successful outcomes in this interview on the Financial Feminist.
Limiting Beliefs
- Gary Vaynerchuk
- Gary is an author and CEO, and in this interview on the Liz Moody podcast, he challenges the excuses people make for not chasing their dreams. “You do not have the time to chase your dream in life?” His tough-love, no bullshit angle might be just the thing to nudge you a little closer to taking that first step.
- Emma Grede
- Emma is one of the world’s most successful women, and in this interview with Mel Robbins she demonstrates that anything is possible, even when you come from nothing. Her hard work, dedication and grit has gotten her to where she is today, and she has no doubt that if you take the right steps, your can make your dreams come true too.
- Alexis Fernandez-Preiksa
- Alexis, host of podcast DYFM (Do You F*cking Mind) delves into the idea of utilizing an alter ego to push past parts of yourself that might be holding you back. Beyonce created alter ego Sasha Fierce for a larger-than life, bolder version of herself that she struggled to embody on stage. If superstars like Beyonce are using tricks like this, then we have no excuse not to implement these hacks until we feel more emboldened to peel away the quieter layers and step fully in to our future versions of selves.
- Mel Robbins
- Mel and Tori Dunlap of The Financial Feminist discuss the importance of letting go of the fear that grips us: CARING WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK. They extoll that focusing on the possibility of negative fleeting thoughts of old friends, coworkers and even friends and family should not be the thing that stops you from reaching for the things that you love most.
- Dr. Doty
- A conversation with the late Neurosurgeon Dr. Doty examines the power of the mind and how we can set our thoughts to move towards desired positive outcomes. He shows how neuroscience supports the strategy of manifestation and cautions the dangers of negative self-talk.
Motivation to Act
- Atomic Habits
- James Clear’s book Atomic Habits shows us that our habits are only as good as the systems we put in place. Biologically we humans are wired to take the path of least resistance, but a few tweaks made with intention can reroute our paths in whatever direction we wish to go. He offers simple and actionable steps to help reduce the barriers to positive change while making bad habits harder to do and less attractive to continue.
- Steven Bartlett
- Steven is an author, speaker, entrepreneur and host of the hit podcast ‘Diary of a CEO’, and in this interview he talks about effective decision making and how to make smarter, quicker decisions to continue on a path towards progress. They discuss the advantages of failure and how taking too long to act can be the difference between your success or the success of your competitor.
Priorities and Purpose
- Die With Zero
- Bill Perkins takes a controversial viewpoint of wealth in his book Die With Zero where he highlights the value of spending your hard-earned wealth during the most robust years of your life instead of safeguarding for the retirement years. He recounts research that shows that as people age, their regular spending decreases , despite rising costs in healthcare. This decrease in spending is even more pronounced in retirees with more than one million dollars in assets. His book questions the curious strategy we all accept as common sense- scrimp and save your entire life so you can be your wealthiest in the least mobile and adventurous decades of your life.
- Sahil Bloom
- Sahil Bloom is the author of the New York Times Bestselling book ‘The 5 Types of Wealth‘ where he examines the idea of wealth beyond numbers in a bank account. In this interview on the Amy Portfield Podcast, he reminds the audience of the uncomfortable reality that our time on this earth is finite, and suggest taking e a look at our lives and make sure that how we spend our time is in true alignment with our values. He leaves us with a question that nudges as at our most intimate thoughts and unfulfilled desires: “If you were the main character in a movie of your life, what would the audience be screaming at you to do right now?”
- Jordan Grumet
- Author and Hospice doctor Jordan Grumet teaches us what he has learned from the dying about how to live a regret free life in his book Taking Stock. Having spent years beside the beds of people at the end of their lives, he shares the wisdom he learned from these patients so we can apply this knowledge now and make our best efforts towards meaningful connection and reaching our goals in the years we still have.
- Ashley Stahl
- Ashley is an author and career coach, and in this interview discusses the messy topic of ‘finding your passion’ and how we manage the uncomfortable task of finding careers that don’t feel stifling to who we are. She discusses how to pinpoint your skillset and offers advice on the modern day job hunt and how to find roles we find fulfilling. Learn more from her book You Turn: Get Unstuck, Discover Your Direction, and Design Your Dream Career.
Finance
- The Financial Feminist
- Tori Dunlap’s book The Financial Feminist is an excellent guidebook to help gain control over your finances and improve your mindset around money. By far one of the most impactful parts to me is that the book begins with the psychology of money and how we must first face our beliefs about money. It highlights that without first acknowledging our deep, and sometimes unconscious beliefs about money (money is dirty, rich people are evil, ‘I don’t deserve money’), that we might be blocking the very channels that can lead to increasing our wealth.
- Lewis Howes
- Lewis Howes talks about his struggles post sports injury that ended what he had hoped would be a long football career. From staying on his sister’s couch to becoming a world renown podcaster, he outlines actionable steps and the mindset he took on to keep himself going even when things felt hopeless.
- Jen Sincero
- Author, speaker and coach Jen Sincero discusses the money mindset and how we can keep ourselves stuck in the limiting beliefs that we neither deserve or are capable of amassing wealth. Her book You Are A Badass was my very first foray into managing my mindset and is a fabulous read, and put me on a great path towards owning my future.
Final Thoughts
As you move into the next year, I hope you give yourself credit for how far you’ve already come. Growth doesn’t always announce itself in real time, and it doesn’t always look the way we expect. Sometimes it shows up quietly—in different decisions, softened beliefs, or a willingness to try something you once avoided.
Keep going. It’s not always easy, but you’re never going to get somewhere if you don’t believe that you can.
Remind yourself that you can—and know that you deserve it.
Keep leveling up. Every single step, no matter how small, is getting you closer to wherever it is you’re trying to go.
