My 2025 learning and word of the year...
Over the last few days, I've been sitting with family, and I was asked how the year shaped up for me.
I realised as I was speaking that it's not just what happened, but how my perspective and mindset shifted throughout the year because I grew!
This was a year of intention for me.
Not intention as a set of goals.
But intention as how I showed up while building something new, uncertain, and personal.
Starting Touching Distance was a significant career shift. I didn’t know exactly where it would lead, but I did know two things:
I would give it my full effort and stay adaptable, listening carefully to what people were actually struggling with rather than just following an idea because I thought it was good.
That choice mattered more than I realised at the time.
A hard year and a different response
This hasn’t been an easy year for any of us.
The last few years have carried a lot of global uncertainty, professional upheaval, and emotional fatigue. That kind of sustained pressure takes a toll on the body as much as the mind.
What’s stood out to me, though, is that the people who find their way into this reflective space are often doing something slightly different.
Instead of simply slogging through or pushing on alone, you’ve felt this period asking more of you, and you've been willing to pause. To reflect, to ask questions, and to seek perspective or support, not because something is wrong with you, but because you’re paying attention.
If you’re here, that already says something important about you.
Trying things that didn't neatly work
I tried many things this year. Some worked. Some didn’t unfold the way I expected.
I experimented with new ways of sharing my work and putting it into the world. I joined programmes that promised clarity around marketing and selling coaching. On paper, the ideas made sense; they clearly worked for others.
And yet, something didn’t sit right.
There was a persistent knot in my stomach, a sense of distance between the strategy and how I wanted to relate to people. I leaned in at first, assuming I simply needed to learn more.
But the discomfort didn’t disappear. It showed up elsewhere too: in how I felt on discovery calls, in moments of hesitation when naming my work or offering paid support.
So I paused.
Listening earlier, not harder
Many of us learned early in life to rely on our thinking minds as a form of protection. Being articulate, composed, or quick to explain ourselves often helped us stay safe, capable, or approved of.
This year didn’t introduce a new insight for me, it asked more of a practice I already had.
Again and again, I was reminded that the best way I can protect myself isn’t by thinking harder, but by listening earlier.
When I noticed tightness, hesitation, or discomfort, I treated it as information rather than something to override. Before my thoughts jumped in with explanations or justifications, I tried to enquire: what might this be responding to?
That practice served me incredibly well.
It helped me slow down decisions that needed care.
It helped me notice misalignment sooner.
And it helped me discern what was actually mine to hold, and what required me to hold space for someone else instead.
Listening earlier didn’t make things heavier.
It made them clearer.
Self-worth, tested in real conditions
One of the deeper threads running through this year was self-worth, not as an idea, but as something I was tested on.
I realised how comfortable I had been speaking on behalf of organisations, programmes, and causes, and how different it felt to do that for my own work.
What shifted things wasn’t one big breakthrough. It was cumulative.
Trying things.
Noticing patterns.
Choosing curiosity over self-criticism.
Learning to stay present when something didn’t go to plan.
I also learned that silence in a conversation isn’t necessarily about me. That hesitation doesn’t always mean rejection. And that giving people space and grace changes the quality of the exchange. And invited in connection.
So, everything I only ever wanted.
Reflection as Intentional Care
One of the strongest confirmations this year brought me is that reflection isn’t something we do only after things settle.
Used intentionally, it’s a form of care while things are still unfolding.
Reflection helped me:
make sense of what I was experiencing
notice when I was taking on more than was mine
stay curious instead of self-critical
keep choosing how I wanted to show up
As the year closes, I’ve been sitting with a small set of questions, not to evaluate myself, but to understand the year with more care.
I’ve turned these into a short Reflection Journal Page that you can download and use in your own time.
Download Your End of Year Reflection Questions HERE
Upcoming Events
For some of you, reflecting on your own is enough.
For others, it helps to think out loud, to test ideas, hear yourself speak, and make sense of what’s next with others around you.
If that’s you, there are a couple of upcoming events you might want to know about:
Talent Bridge: 2 upcoming cohorts
For people navigating professional transition who want help translating their experience, expanding their identity, and finding language that fits who they are now, without minimising what they’ve done or rushing to reinvent themselves.
Leaders Circle
Leaders Circle is a quieter space for you to explore how you'd like to set your team up for the upcoming year.
We'll exchange ideas on useful team activities to help close a chapter and enter a new one, and support people in moving into the new strategy period / new year goals with a sense of togetherness.
Click here to express your interest and I'll be in touch.
No pressure. Just options, if and when they feel useful.
This has been one of the most energising and creative years for me, filled with learning and connection.
Thank you for being here, and for being a genuinely joyful part of that!
With you always,
Linda
Founder of Touching Distance
