In doing so we hope it inspires you to take the time to do your own (if you haven't already). We found this blog particularly cathartic to write so we can assure you, end of year reflections should be seen as an enjoyable exercise not a chore.
As you can see, we have focussed our answers mainly on our business, Evolve Journey. But that doesn't need to be the same for you. Having the four pillars of happiness (health, wealth, relationships & freedom) at the back of your mind when answering each question will help you get a holistic reflection.
If you missed the template for our end of year reflections in last weeks newsletter click here.
Past Year in Review
What standout moments—both positive and challenging—shaped this year. What are the lessons?1. We held our first in person event early in 2024 where we hosted a panel on habits, mindset and routines and hung out with a bunch of Evolve Journalers in person.
2. After years of work we launched new design and version updates of the Evolve Journal, improving its look and feel while packing more value into the Discovery Course. Without a doubt, this couldn’t have been achieved without the invaluable customer feedback we received and the interviews we conducted—we are eternally grateful for your help. We also made great strides in making our product more sustainable by changing manufacturers, reducing weight and the amount of paper used, and upgrading the overall quality.
3. We haven't been without our struggles. In April our biggest ever order of stock worth over £20k went missing for three weeks en route to us, a true test of our Stoicism. The summer months for us as a business are particularly trying as people are out having fun - not shopping online - but on reflection, this is where we grew the most. As things slowed we searched for growth, it forced us to improve our messaging, redesign the website to optimise the customer experience and explore new ways to provide value.
4. On the topic of exploration... some personal highlights included traveling to Thailand, Spain, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Egypt while exploring some closer to home spots in the Scottish Highlands, Cornwall and Devon. 2024 has highlighted the importance of the Freedom pillar of happiness and reminded us how essential it is to optimise for location freedom giving us the flexibility to explore and to present to experience life milestones with loved ones.
5. Continued our quest outside of journaling while sticking to our philosophy: 'Everything we create must be something we’d proudly use ourselves and that, in the hands of others, contributes to making the world a better place.' On our quest we redesigned of our Stoic Coin and created our first ever necklace in tandem with the brilliant designer Chris Brown. We are insanely excited about our latest product, a digital course and online community, which is set for release in early 2025. Its mission is to connect all those who are looking to make positive changes to their life whilst providing them with the tools to do so.
Looking Ahead
Imagining your future self at 85, if they could see your 2024 what would they say? How can you use that wisdom to shape the next chapter of your life story?1. As the year closes out we are absolutely full of gratitude. We’re entering our busiest season, a time when we have the privilege of sharing the power of journaling with more people than ever before making positive changes that we hope will create a butterfly effect as we all get a little bit better each day.
If our 85 year old selves could see us now they would probably remind us to zoom out and remind us to trust in the overarching trend that's moving in the right direction. As we expand into new territory and welcome community members to our new offering, we’ll certainly need this wisdom to try and maximise the value we can bring to each and everyone of our new community members, and we couldn’t be more excited for what’s to come.