As the year begins to wind down, seasons like this naturally call for a pause. Not a panic. Not pressure. A pause. A moment to reflect, to review, and to reset.
Before you rush into the next year with fresh goals and loud declarations, it’s important to look back—honestly—at what you set out to do, how far you came, what worked, what didn’t, and why.
Progress doesn’t always require a complete overhaul. Sometimes, it requires a reset.
Let me take you back to something simple. Some time ago, I started a small front-yard garden with my kids. We planted vegetables—tomatoes here, a few other things there. Not long after, some green shoots began to appear, and the kids were excited. They thought everything growing was what we planted. That’s when I explained to them that some of what they were seeing were weeds. Not everything that grows is intentional.
Over time, as the vegetables began to take shape, they could clearly tell the difference. Recently, while walking past the garden, one of my daughters pointed at a plant and said, “That’s a weed.” I paused and asked her a simple question: “Did we plant it?” She said no. I said, “Exactly.”
In school, they had been learning about seed dispersal—how seeds spread through birds, wind, and other means. So, she began asking questions. And that opened a bigger conversation. In life, there are things we do on purpose, and there are things that simply happen. You may plant tomato seeds with a clear intention, but other things will show up uninvited. That’s life.
You might have started the year with clear goals and dreams—projects you wanted to complete, habits you wanted to build, directions you wanted to take. Somewhere along the way, things crept in. Distractions. Pressure. Responsibilities. Fatigue. Some unplanned situations didn’t just slow you down; they tried to choke the very thing you were growing.
And here’s the key: the presence of weeds does not mean your vision was wrong.
Sometimes, all you need is a reset—a moment to step back and assess what’s growing around your dream.
In gardening, timing matters. When seedlings are still tender, uprooting weeds too aggressively can damage the very plant you’re trying to protect. Sometimes, you don’t pull them out immediately. You let the main plant grow stronger. You watch. You manage. You wait for the right time.
Life works the same way.
There are seasons where you can’t eliminate certain challenges immediately. You learn to live around them for a while. You manage discomfort. You adapt. You grow stronger first. Not every battle is meant to be fought instantly.
There are also weeds you don’t negotiate with. The moment you identify them, you remove them. Harmful habits. Destructive patterns. Influences that clearly derail your focus. Those ones don’t need contemplation; they need action.
A reset helps you tell the difference.
As the year ends, reflection becomes your tool. What did you try to manage that should have been removed earlier? What did you try to remove too early that needed patience? What did you ignore, hoping it would go away on its own?
Resetting is not quitting. It’s recalibrating.
It’s understanding that growth doesn’t happen in a vacuum. External pressures will always exist. Internal battles will always surface. But clarity comes when you remind yourself what you planted in the first place.
Wasn’t the goal to grow tomatoes?
Then why give all your attention to the weeds?
Yes, you acknowledge their presence. You deal with them when necessary. But you don’t pour all your energy into them. You water the vision. You nurture the goal. You strengthen the core.
When you spend too much time worrying about what could go wrong, you fracture your focus. When your attention is constantly pulled toward negativity, fear, or distraction, you starve the very thing you’re trying to grow.
A reset brings you back to centre.
So as the year closes, ask yourself the hard but necessary questions. What stopped you? What slowed you down? What did you tolerate that you shouldn’t carry into the next season? What needs to be cut off completely? And what simply needs better management?
Resetting is the foundation. Without it, rewiring and repositioning won’t hold.
Let’s clear the ground first.
REWIRE: Changing the Thinking That Keeps Reproducing the Same Results
After a reset, the next real work begins—not on the outside, but on the inside. Because if you clear the ground and still plant with the same thinking, you’ll most likely end up with the same results. That’s where rewiring comes in.
Rewiring is about patterns. Thought patterns. Behavioural patterns. Decision-making patterns. It’s about recognising that some outcomes repeat not because of external opposition, but because of internal defaults.
Back to the garden again.
Weeds don’t just show up randomly. They thrive in certain conditions. If the soil is unattended, if the space is left unchecked, weeds will keep returning. You can uproot them today and still see them again next season if nothing changes beneath the surface.
That’s exactly how life works.
Some of the things that derail us are not accidents; they are habits. They are mental shortcuts we’ve normalised. Ways of thinking we’ve accepted as “just how I am.” But growth demands honesty. You have to ask yourself: why do I keep ending up here?
Rewiring starts when you stop blaming the environment alone and begin examining your responses to it.
You may have noticed that every year, around the same time, you struggle with the same issues—burnout, inconsistency, loss of focus, fear of starting, fear of finishing. The goals change, but the pattern remains. That’s not a coincidence.
That’s wiring.
Some of us were wired to play small because of past disappointments. Some were wired to overthink because mistakes were punished early in life. Others were wired to delay because we confuse preparation with progress. Until you confront those internal scripts, your external changes won’t last.
Rewiring means asking better questions.
Why do I abandon things halfway?
Why do I resist structure even though I crave results?
Why do I keep attracting the same kind of distractions?
Why do I wait for pressure before I act?
These aren’t questions to shame yourself. They are questions to free yourself.
Just like in farming, certain weeds require different approaches. Some can be cut and managed. Others need to be uprooted completely. But you can’t deal with what you refuse to identify.
Rewiring also involves replacing, not just removing.
When you uproot a weed and leave the soil empty, something else will grow there. The mind works the same way. If you remove a habit without replacing it, something familiar—often unhelpful—will return.
If distraction was your default, what discipline will replace it?
If fear shaped your decisions, what conviction will take its place?
If comfort slowed you down, what structure will now support you?
This is where tools matter.
In previous years, you may not have had access to the resources you have now. Technology has advanced. Systems are available. Knowledge is more accessible. Rewiring sometimes means admitting that the old way of doing things no longer serves you.
You can’t keep using outdated methods and expect upgraded outcomes.
It may be as practical as using better tools to manage your time, track your goals, or automate repetitive work. It may be as internal as changing how you speak to yourself—especially when things don’t go as planned.
Rewiring is also about redefining cost.
What is this costing me?
Is this draining my time, my energy, my finances, or my peace?
And what is the return?
Every serious person eventually learns to classify their commitments. Some things are passion projects. Some are income-generating. Some are legacy-driven. When everything feels equally urgent, nothing gets the attention it deserves.
Rewiring brings order.
It helps you stop mixing categories—expecting emotional fulfilment from financial projects, or financial returns from charity work. Once you separate them, frustration reduces and focus increases.
And let’s be clear: rewiring is uncomfortable.
It forces you to unlearn things that once protected you but now limit you. It requires discipline before motivation. Structure before inspiration. Intentionality before convenience.
But this is where growth becomes sustainable.
You don’t rewire overnight. You rewire through repetition. Through small, consistent shifts. Through choosing alignment over impulse.
As the year ends, rewiring demands reflection. Not just on what happened, but on how you responded when it happened. Because next year will bring its own weeds. The question is whether you’ll respond differently.
REPOSITION: Placing Yourself Where Growth Can Actually Happen
After resetting the ground and rewiring the mind, there’s one more step many people skip—repositioning. And this is where effort finally begins to show results.
Because you can be clear. You can be disciplined. You can even be motivated. But if you are still standing in the wrong place, growth will be slow and frustrating.
In gardening, some plants don’t fail because they are weak. They fail because they are planted in the wrong spot. Too much shade. Poor soil. No access to water. The seed is fine, but the positioning is wrong.
Life works the same way.
Sometimes your problem is not a lack of ability. It’s not even laziness. It’s environment, proximity, exposure, and alignment.
You may be trying to grow something significant while constantly surrounded by things that drain you—conversations that don’t sharpen you, commitments that consume your energy, spaces that don’t stretch your thinking. Over time, that positioning dulls momentum.
Repositioning requires courage because it often looks like change from the outside.
It may mean changing how you spend your time.
Changing who has access to you.
Changing the rooms you sit in.
Changing what you say yes to.
Not everything that is familiar is healthy for growth.
Back to the garden again. Certain crops grow better when planted alongside others. Some vegetables support each other. They protect, nourish, and strengthen the soil together. Others compete and stunt growth.
Repositioning is about understanding what should grow alongside your vision.
What complements your goal?
What strengthens it naturally?
What drains it silently?
In practical terms, this could mean pairing your main project with the right systems, tools, or partnerships. It could mean learning a new skill that supports your primary goal rather than distracting from it. It could mean placing structure around your time so your best energy is not wasted on low-impact activity.
Repositioning also forces you to confront cost.
Every position has a price.
Is this costing me too much time?
Is it draining my emotional energy?
Is it delaying progress?
And is the return worth it?
Some things look good on the surface but are too expensive in the long run. Growth demands honest accounting. When you reposition well, you stop bleeding quietly.
This is also where maturity shows.
You begin to categorise your life better. You understand that not everything is meant to produce money. Some things produce impact. Some produce fulfilment. Some produce freedom later. Once you know what each area is meant to yield, you stop forcing unrealistic expectations. And clarity brings peace.
Repositioning doesn’t mean abandoning your dream. It means placing it where it can breathe.
It may mean adjusting your pace. Some seasons require acceleration. Others require patience. The goal doesn’t change, but the strategy does.
And here’s the part many people miss: repositioning is not failure—it’s wisdom.
When something isn’t working, staying stuck out of pride only delays progress. Sometimes, the most strategic move is not to push harder but to step aside, reassess, and place yourself better.
As the year ends, this is the moment to ask:
Where am I standing?
Is this position helping or hurting my growth?
What needs to shift so my goals can actually thrive?
Because weeds will always exist. Challenges will always come. But when you are well-positioned, they don’t dominate the outcome.
In conclusion, as the year draws to a close, this is not a call to panic or pressure yourself. It’s an invitation to be intentional.
Reset what needs clearing.
Rewire what keeps repeating.
Reposition where growth is possible.
Your dreams are still valid. Your goals are still achievable. But they require honesty, structure, and alignment. Focus on the food, not the weeds. Nurture what matters. Manage distractions without letting them define you.
If you’re gifted but feel stuck, this journey isn’t new. I explore these internal and external blockers deeply in my book Gifted but Gated: How Smart People Get Stuck and How to Break Free. It’s available in audio, e-book, and print. The goal is simple—to help you recognise what’s holding you back and give you practical ways to move forward.
The best is still yours.
— Bernard Kelvin Clive
