There are moments (very few) that I get a few minutes to reflect. As a self-confessed over thinker this is not always good for me but that time, it was. I was thinking back and reflecting on the previous year. I would love to sit here and tell you my first thought was “what an amazing year”. The realist in me, however, will be honest in my thought was actually, “I made it”. Not all was good and not all was bad but it was definitely a year of growth and lessons learned. I was reminded that life’s a series of puzzles and there are essential pieces needed to achieve fulfillment.

What pieces do you need to be fulfilled?

Some of life’s puzzles are easy, some complex and some will never be completed because there’s a piece missing. The easy one’s are often the ones that make us smile, the complex often have us frustrated and the missing piece can bring sadness, but all teach us something once we experience them.

What are my pieces? Faith, for me is a constant in all of those scenarios, followed by my family and success. Faith and family are self-explanatory but when I name success as an essential piece, that applies to many roles in my life.

• As a mom, success is raising intelligent, respectful and kind little humans.
• As a manager, success is giving my team the tools and confidence they need to feel accomplished and appreciated.
• As a daughter, success is making life choices and decisions that reflect what my parents instilled in me growing up.
• As a peer, success is having the trust and respect from those I work with so that we can rely on each other’s strengths to balance out our weakness and accomplish any task that comes our way.

Reflecting on my own “pieces” had me wondering what would other people list? Having an extremely diverse group of friends, all of whom are more like family, had me curious of what they would list. I reached out to a few to see what they would say. Here are some of their response’s…family, friends, health, financial stability, self-confidence, love and my personal favorite “why are asking me these difficult questions lol”. Most of their responses were similar and despite the very different lives we lead, I can see why they are such important “pieces” in my life. Fulfillment for each of us comes from a different place but not having the right pieces in our life would make solving any puzzle impossible. Now is the perfect time to take inventory of your pieces, ensure they know you are also theirs, and look back at some of the more impressive “puzzles” you’ve accomplished.