Erica: Hey, girl. By now, you know I have Her Collective, my online community for ambitious women who are done doing it alone. Her Collective is for the women who are smart, capable, and driven, but they find themselves stuck on the sticky floors like self doubt, burnout, and waiting for permission that quite honestly never comes. Inside HER, you get more than motivation. You get real support, real strategies, and real momentum.

Erica: We work on things like clarifying what you want now and what's coming next, building confidence without burning yourself out, navigating hard conversations, career moves, and leadership moments with clarity, and surrounding yourself with women who actually get it. This isn't about hustling harder. It's about moving intentionally with the right tools and the right people in your corner. If you're ready to stop spinning, start choosing yourself, and build a career in life that actually feels aligned, I'd love to welcome you inside her collective. You can learn more and join us at www.joinhercollective.com.

Erica: Because honestly, girl, you were never meant to do this alone. With Thanksgiving behind us and the new year rapidly approaching, I wanna ask you a question. What are you doing for your 2023, this year, the goals? We still have, I don't know, a month left. So do you plan on just coasting through the rest of the year, eating some bon bons, some candy canes, and wearing your comfy pants while sitting by the fire?

Erica: Or do you plan on doing whatever needs to be done to get you closer to your goals? Now for me, I'll be setting myself up for both, and I'm going to teach you in this episode how you can do the same. Because I want to enjoy my holiday season. I want moments of laziness and rest, but I also don't wanna lose momentum. And y'all, if you haven't figured it out by now, I am not so extreme that I am not going to enjoy my holiday treats.

Erica: But I'm also not going to let myself fall so far off the wagon that come January, I'm looking around wondering what the hell's been. So if that sounds like a plan for you, you are in the right place. We are going to be that middle of the road mama who has the best time during the holidays, but is also focused on growth, goals, and abundance.

Erica: So let's talk about year end. This is the time of year so many people just get so comfortable. They get, shall we say, complacent? They settle into the treats and the cookies and they start hibernating like a damn bear. It is cold outside.

Erica: There are no leaves on the trees, at least not here in North Carolina, and everyone, I mean, everyone has treats galore everywhere. Hairstylists got treats. Teachers, treats. Grocery store, more treats. So this time of year is usually a rest time for me.

Erica: A time to slow down, a time to hunker down and really just breathe. But if you're careful that rest and hunker downtime can become detrimental to the momentum you have worked so hard to build over the past eleven months, and we are not about to do that. So this is my game plan. I've put it together. I've been thinking ahead so that we can all stay on track together, but still enjoy the holiday season.

Erica: So first up, I'm gonna be grateful. I am going to reflect on the spirit of Thanksgiving and the importance of gratitude. And I have done some episodes on gratitude just a couple weeks ago. So if you want more on gratitude, head back and listen to those because gratitude is so, so, so important and so powerful in setting new goals and new heights. And it can be really powerful when it comes to staying on track.

Erica: So take a moment, ground yourself daily, and be grateful for where you are in this very Next up, we're going to create some meaningful and achievable goals for the remainder of the year. So I'm sure that you have heard that all goals need to be SMART goals. Right? Specific, measurable, attainable, SMA, r realistic, and t, timetable. I had to think about that for a minute.

Erica: Now I like to stick to that 99% of the time. But during this last month of the year, it's a little bit different. So we are all super busy with everything holiday related, trying to wrap up the year. We've got year end goals at work. We've got all the holiday stuff like shopping, gift wrapping, and cooking, and family in town, and our lives are just so crazy dizzy.

Erica: So again, this time of year, it's just different, at least for me. So I like my goals to match my energy, which is quite honestly a little more toned down, a little more focused on the r and r, rest and relaxation, than anything else. And I've got a formula that it's going to keep you on track. Are you ready for it? I take whatever my usual goal is.

Erica: For example, if I wanna read for twenty minutes a day or walk three miles every day, instead of being that smart goal, instead of them being specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, blah blah blah, I make them less so. And you might be like, Erica, what the hell? That is so counterintuitive. It is against everything that I have learned, but I want you to hear me out instead of your goals being so specific that when, you know, you might not meet those goals, you just toss them all in the trash and fall all the way down, make them more generalized. And what I mean by that is typically, during this season of life, my goal is to read on most days.

Erica: My goal is to get movement on most days. My goal to eat healthy most of the time. And, again, this isn't something that I would recommend all year long, but during this time or any time where you want to intentionally slow down but also stay on track, This is the formula to do it. So you're moving away from those smart goals and you're moving more towards generalized goals. And I will tell you this works every single time to keep me on track while allowing grace.

Erica: It allows the time for the rest. It allows the time for flexibility, for hunkering down, which is 100% what I am looking for this season. So again, if this is something that works for you, do it. If you wanna stick to the main goals, you can do that too. But if you are like me and you wanna slow down during this last month of the year without losing momentum, I guarantee you giving yourself the grace and the flexibility, that's how you do it.

Erica: Now the second thing that I want you to do is plan. So if you have some target dates or deliverables that must and cannot change, plan for it. It. Prime example, I put out two podcasts a week every week. I don't wanna have to worry about any of that during my hibernation period.

Erica: So I'm doing them all ahead of Yes. It means I'm going to have to do a little extra work now, but it sets me up to enjoy my time later. This is actually what they say is this, you know, the sign of what makes a person successful, someone who can delay gratification in the present to enjoy the future. That's what I need you to do. Now another tip for keeping yourself from backsliding and losing momentum is making it a family affair.

Erica: Get your kids, your partner, your extended family. Get them all involved in the fun. You can do family walks or outside activities. Maybe do reading more with a kid. It doesn't have to be crazy, but it can be done.

Erica: And I have found that my kids usually just wanna be with me, so it doesn't matter if we're reading or outside going for a bike ride. Do whatever you gotta do. But my last tip that is going to keep you marching forward is actually to take a look. Reflection is so powerful. You are not where you were six months ago and certainly not where you were a year ago.

Erica: And if you are someone that keeps a journal or a goal planner, I want you to go back in time to January and look at your goals. How far have you come? What have you accomplished? When I think back on January 2023, I had not written a book that was about to be published. I stayed true to my goal of two podcast episodes per week, which gets me in at over 100 podcasts by the end of the year.

Erica: I've multiplied my thought leadership on LinkedIn and made so many true friends and connections and damn y'all. I had to pat myself on the back because I have come so far. And when you look back, how far have you come? How much have you accomplished? If you take the time and you reflect back, you will feel so inspired by your own damn self.

Erica: And that is going to give you the momentum to keep on going during this hibernation. Now friends, I want you to hit 01/01/2024 strong. I want you to hit new year's day, just ready to go. And I want you to take the time during the holidays to also rest, to slow down, to enjoy and be present without backsliding. So do what you gotta do.

Erica: Listen to this episode again if you need to. Just don't forget to enjoy the moment. Now I hope you have the best holiday season, but you know I'll be around next week, so stop by and we can keep each other on track as we go. And, guys, thank you so much for being here. I am just so grateful for you, and I'm grateful that you continue to show up and listen to these episodes.

Erica: If you enjoyed this one, please do me a favor and rate, review, and subscribe. And you know what? Leave me a review. It truly helps it land in the hands of the person who may just need to hear the message today.