No. 26 - TOWARDS LIGHT 🕯

happy solstice! you know what time it is. new season = new goals ❄️⛄🕯

Author

Anastazia Neely
December 17, 2025

TOWARDS LIGHT 🕯

December 17, 2025 • Issue No. 26

Happy fourth night of Hanukkah! 🕯🕯🕯🕯

Don’t get me wrong, I love a vision board and a resolution just as much as the next gal but January 1st is not the time for looking ahead. Be for real! You’re not yourself on the first day of the year, you’re a different version — one that’s off of their regular schedule, been logged off for days, and maybe even a little hungover (depending on the festivities you chose for December 31st!) This is not the version of ourselves we should trust to make big choices. 

The new year is for celebrating! I like to continue my southern dinner party tradition. The menu is always the same: black eyed peas for luck, collard greens for money, plus fried fish, cornbread, and pound cake. (Those last three don’t have any particular significance, they just round out the meal.) But just like I can’t expect to send the invitations, grocery shop, clean the house, cook, and choose a playlist all on Jan 1, we’ve got to get ahead on the next season. And this — right before we’re in the full swing of the Christmas season — is the moment.

Sunday, December 21st is the Winter Solstice (it’s the summer solstice in the Southern hemisphere). It will be the darkest day of the year. You’ve probably noticed us inching closer since the summer; each day the sun goes down a little earlier until our dinner reservations are plunged into pitch-black evenings. Here’s what I wrote when we started this season back in October:

The balance between daylight and night tips a few minutes each day. The temperature slips until you’re wearing a whole new wardrobe. Leaves drift from the trees a few at a time. Think about this season as a gradual shift toward winter, toward clearing, and toward your goal. The key is attention. As adrienne maree brown writes, “what you pay attention to grows”. Figure you out what you could clear by paying a little attention each day or week. And you could go into winter ready for a new start. ❄️

So December 21 will be dark. But on the very next day, December 22nd, the sun starts giving back the minutes she’s been taking away and light begins to return. So in the spirit of the Winter Solstice ❄️ and the journey toward spring, let’s set goals that represent the optimism and the bright potential of the season. If you didn’t join us in setting a goal for the season in spring or summer or fall, don’t be discouraged. Join us now.

Here are some goals that might get you thinking about optimism:

  • identify 3 professional learning or certificate programs that interest you

  • talk to 5 people at work about starting an ERG, committee, working group, onboarding team, etc.

  • create a calendar of LinkedIn posts that start at the Spring Equinox and go through summer (you can follow through next season!)

  • choose one public figure who inspires you professionally, deep dive on their interviews, podcasts, articles and books they’ve written — take notes on any applicable advice for your journey

My recent infatuation is celebrity chef Carla Hall. I’m really drawn to the way she coordinates her outfits, hair, and glasses and her emphasis on love and connection when she’s judging cooking shows like Holiday Baking Championship and Next Level Baker: Holiday Edition. I felt like she had been around forever, but she only became a household name in her 40s as a Top Chef competitor. There’s a lot I’d like to learn from her — inside and outside of the kitchen!

So before you log off for 2025 (or catch that flight! ✈️), take a moment while you’re still in your workspace and determine what you want to pay attention to for the next 13 weeks. This doesn’t have to be separate from what you’re planning to put on your vision board or announce as your New Year’s Resolution, but it should be one thing that you want to work on or develop incrementally.

I know it feels early, but a little intentionality now will go a long way later. When the Spring Equinox rolls around in mid-March and you’re feeling optimistic, you’ll be right on schedule as the light returns. 💎 

P.S. Can you share this newsletter with a friend? 💕 Adding in an accountability partner could help you really make this season count.

talk to me

Write me an email, leave a comment, or save these for your journal

  • What’s an area of your life (work or otherwise) that could benefit from more attention?

  • What’s an area of optimism you’d like to explore?

  • What incremental actions can you take to bring you closer to your goal?

  • How will you celebrate crossing the finish line on Friday, March 20th?!

Just like last season, I’ll remind you about the upcoming Spring Equinox in every issue.

  • 🧑🏾‍🌾 Let’s get goal farming! Our 13 week stretch to spring starts in 3 days!

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The Sparkle Sheet is a newsletter publication written and created by Anastazia Neely, founder of Executive Radiance. Executive Radiance, LLC provides coaching and leadership development remotely and in-person in New York City.