TIME TO CHECK IN -- WITH YOURSELF!

The coming and going of Labor Day represents a variety of annual milestones.  It tells me that the summer season of pool parties and beach days are about to quickly wind down, my white pants will soon be out of fashion, and October 1st is around the corner.  What's the big deal about October 1st?  Well, it is the commencement of the Fourth Quarter. 

The end of year, or 4th Qtr, is an incredibly busy and often stressful time of year for business operations.  We have one last calendar quarter to showcase our earnings, accomplish or perhaps outperform our projected numbers, and then prepare budgets for the year ahead based on the current year-to-date performance. 

I hate budget season.  I have to create and/or approve budgets for nearly a dozen commercial properties and the majority of our forecasting is a function of looking in the rear view mirror.  Sometimes the rearview mirror is a glamorous and exciting window filled with outperformance and a pat on the back.  Other times the images in the rearview mirror cause me to slump my shoulders, hang my head, and simply let out a sigh hoping that that year ahead will be better.  By now, you have probably figured out that I work in commercial real estate and if you have read a headline or two in the last five years then you can probably guess which rearview mirror images have appeared most frequently.  Needless to say, I am in need of a serious spa day come end of December every year to relieve the tension in my shoulders. 

This past weekend I was reflecting upon the stream of consciousness that the '4th Qtr' brings about and I started to reflect upon my personal progress through the year thus far.  I started writing these articles nearly a year ago and around the holiday season had started a conversation about establishing goals and working through your own 30 Day Challenge to create new habits.  Admittedly, I didn't even finish writing the 30 Challenge series so I was pretty terrified to attempt to measure my success in other goal setting areas of my life. 

There are so many life events that happen throughout the year and it is easy to get pulled 'off course'.  The common conversation in the fall tends to be about how the summer time flew by, the holidays are around the corner, and the next thing you know it will be 2013.  I am guilty of this mentality and can be found eagerly nodding my head in agreement with such statements in conversation, but today I am going to pulled the E-break and ask you to SLOW DOWN, take a breath, and check in with yourself. 

The 30 Day Challenge presented the opportunity to focus on improving your physical, spiritual, and personal well being.  What goals did you set?  What habits were you hoping to build?  What sort of things did you start to make time for and then slowly find yourself losing the dedication towards your own self-improvement?

In simply re-reading my posts from December 2011 and January 2012, I will be the first to admit that the 4th Qtr Check-In is entirely necessary for me to start steering this ship back on course.  I will be bringing the 30 Day Challenge back to Stillettos in the Boardroom so that I can finish what I started -- I encourage you to do the same!  The year isn't over yet so as my soccer coaches over the years used to yell throughout the 4th Qtr of each game, "C'mon girls!! Finish Strong!!"