How to Review, Release, and Reset for a New Season

End the Year Strong:

There is something sacred about the final stretch of the year. The air feels different—cooler, quieter, gentler. The heart becomes softer and more reflective. December invites us to look back with honesty, look around with gratitude, and look forward with holy expectancy. It is a month of both remembrance and renewal.

The apostle Paul captured the essence of this beautifully:

“This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
I press toward the mark…”
— Philippians 3:13–14 (KJV)

Paul understood that spiritual progress begins with intentional reflection. To end the year strong, we must pause long enough to examine the story God has written in our lives—chapter by chapter, page by page. Not with regret, not with comparison, not with shame—but through the Truth.

Reflection is not dwelling on the past; it is discerning the hand of God in it.

Let us walk together through a gentle, truth-filled process: reviewing the year, releasing the weight of what must not follow us forward, and resetting our minds for the new season ahead.

1. Reviewing the Year with Truth, Not Regret

At year’s end, many women replay memories with a sense of heaviness—“I should have done more,” “I should have been better,” “I should have gotten further.”

But Paul’s words remind us:
“This one thing I do…”

Not ten things.
Not a thousand things.
One thing.

He chose to see the past through the lens of grace.

Reflection is not about rehearsing failures; it is about recognizing patterns, lessons, and blessings. It is about seeing how God sustained you, shaped you, and strengthened you—even in the places you did not understand.

Begin Your Review with These Gentle Questions:

• What victories did God give me this year—big or small?
• What lessons did I learn that made me wiser?
• What moments stretched me in ways I did not expect?
• Where did God meet me with unexpected grace?
• What challenges forced me to grow stronger in faith?

Every question becomes a lantern, illuminating the path God carved for you.

Zig Ziglar said,
“You cannot hit a target you cannot see.”
Reviewing the year helps you see clearly—
not where you failed,
but where God was faithful.

2. Releasing the Weight That Cannot Follow You Forward

Before we can reach forth to “those things which are before,” we must release what no longer belongs.

Just as a runner lays aside every weight, the heart must lighten its load before crossing into a new year.

What must be released?

• The fear that whispers you are not enough
• The disappointment that lurks in unfulfilled hopes
• The guilt that God already forgave
• The expectations that were never yours to carry
• The comparison that steals joy
• The perfectionism that exhausts the soul
• The lie that your pace should match someone else’s

Release is not forgetting the past;
release is freeing your future.

Release Happens Through Truth

Truth Mindset™ teaches us to Target the Lie and Replace It with Scripture.

The lie says, “You failed.”
Truth says, “Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it…” (Phil. 1:6)

The lie says, “You are behind.”
Truth says, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD.” (Ps. 37:23)

The lie says, “You should have done more.”
Truth says, “My grace is sufficient for thee.” (2 Cor. 12:9)

Release is not a feeling.
Release is a choice.

A choice to believe God’s Word over your worry.
A choice to trust His sovereignty over your timeline.
A choice to let go and let God lead you forward.

3. Resetting Your Mind for a New Season

Once the heart is reviewed and the burdens are released, the mind becomes ready for holy reset—a spiritual recalibration aligned with God’s direction.

Reset is not self-help.
Reset is soul-help.

It is the renewing, refreshing, refocusing of your inner world so that your outward steps follow truth.

A Reset Begins with Intention

Paul said,
“I press toward the mark…”

Pressing requires direction.
Direction requires vision.
Vision requires clarity.

A reset is about deciding who you will be in the new year—not based on pressure, but based on purpose.

Ask Yourself:

• What kind of woman do I want to become in Christ this year?
• What spiritual disciplines will help me grow?
• What habits will strengthen my mindset?
• What priorities will guard my peace?
• What lies will I refuse to carry into the new year?
• What truth will be my anchor?

Reset is not about doing everything.
It is about doing the right things.
The God-honoring things.
The growth-producing things.

4. Small Changes, Big Transformation

Over decades of coaching, Ziglar taught a powerful truth:
“You do not have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.”

Growth does not happen in leaps; it happens in steps.
Small habits.
Small decisions.
Small acts of obedience.
Small moments of truth.
Together, they shape a life of significance and legacy.

Scientific research agrees:
Tiny, consistent behaviors rewire the brain and form lasting change.

When paired with Scripture, these small actions become spiritual seeds—sown in faith, watered through discipline, and harvested in due time.

5. The Spiritual Power of Reflection

Reflection is not “looking back”—
it is looking deeply.
It is recognizing what God built, broke, shifted, healed, moved, or strengthened within you.

Reflection is worship.
Reflection is obedience.
Reflection is stewardship of your story.

To ignore your story is to miss God’s fingerprints.
To reflect on your story is to see His faithfulness woven through the year.

Reflection Strengthens Resilience

Science tells us that reviewing the past with clarity develops emotional strength.
The Bible tells us the same truth:

“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.”
— Psalm 103:2 (KJV)

When you remember what God has done, your faith rises for what He will do.

6. Turning the Page with Peace

Peace is not something you chase at the end of the year.
Peace is something you choose.

“Great peace have they which love Thy law…”
— Psalm 119:165 (KJV)

As you turn the page on this year, allow the peace of God to settle your spirit.
Not peace based on circumstances.
Not peace based on perfection.
But peace based on His presence.

Let your final act of the year be surrender.
Let your first step into the new year be confidence.
Not confidence in yourself—
but in Christ who strengthens you.

7. A Truth Mindset™ Reflection for the End of the Year

Take a quiet moment to journal these:

A. One thing I am grateful God accomplished in me this year is…
B. One heavy thing I will lay down before the new year is…
C. One truth I will carry boldly into the new year is…
D. One lie I refuse to believe any longer is…
E. One step of obedience I will begin with is…

This is not a checklist—
this is a heart-check.

Where truth is welcomed, transformation follows.

A Prayer to End the Year in Strength

“Lord,
I thank You for the year You have brought me through.
For every tear You dried,
every fear You calmed,
every door You opened,
every lesson You taught,
every blessing You poured out.

Show me what to release,
so I may walk freely into the new season.
Renew my mind with Your truth.
Restore my strength with Your Spirit.
Reset my steps according to Your will.

Let the coming year be lived with purpose,
with peace,
with focus,
with boldness,
with faith.

I press toward the mark—
not in my strength,
but in Yours.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.”

Closing Encouragement

The end of the year is not a finale—
it is a doorway.

And you, dear heart, are stepping through that doorway
with wisdom gained,
strength formed,
and truth planted deep within.

Review with grace.
Release with courage.
Reset with confidence.

For the God who carried you this far
will carry you forward
with the same steadfast love.