“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished” – Lao Tzu

Just as flowers know exactly when to bloom and trees understand precisely when to shed their leaves, life moves in patterns of growth, expansion, contraction, rest, and renewal. 

Finding Meaning in a Year of Endings

At the end of each year in our online mastermind group, The Inspired Business Collective, we reflect on the year just passed and ponder all the things that happened. We then summarise the year in just one word, before looking ahead to the next year.

Last Monday when we did the annual reflection, it became clear that some ladies had an amazing year. One of them had her best year in business yet with huge breakthroughs and expansion. Her word for 2024 was “success”. 

Others (myself included) had an incredibly challenging year. One client was teary as she recounted the unexpected and challenging turn her life had taken this year. Things didn’t pan at all out how she had hoped or expected. 

My word for 2024 was “resolve” because it took enormous resolve (determination) just to get through the year. “Resolve” also referred to the big and challenging things I needed to work through this year, including the heart-breaking breakdown of my 25-year partnership with my husband and stepping away from a project that was not serving me — while trying to be a good Mum to my two young boys and run a profitable business. 

Sometimes when we’re in the middle of tough times, it’s hard to find a positive perspective and everything just feels hard.

Finding Perspective through Numerology

Two of the ladies in our mastermind group are trained in Numerology — an ancient practice that suggests there’s a relationship between numbers and events, characteristics, or circumstances in our lives. It’s based on the idea that the Universe is a system that can be broken down into basic numbers. The practice stems from different traditions including Pythagoreanism, Chinese numerology and the Kabbalah, among others.

Whether or not you believe in systems like these (and with a background in science and engineering, I understand if you’re sceptical..), they can be fun to ponder because they often provide a bigger perspective that can be comforting. Two of our members, Keryn and Vicki, helped us all figure out our Personal Year Numbers to see how they related to our experiences this year. 

The results were quite phenomenal.

Personal Year Numbers 

In numerology, personal years run in 9-year cycles. Each year (1-9) has its own energy and focus (see below). 

1 – New beginnings, fresh starts, planting seeds 

2 – Partnership, patience, building foundations 

3 – Creative expression, joy, communication 

4 – Structure, stability, building 

5 – Change, freedom, adventure 

6 – Harmony, home, responsibility 

7 – Reflection, spiritual growth, inner wisdom 

8 – Abundance, power, manifestation 

9 – Completion, release, transformation, letting go

To calculate your personal year, you add your birth month and day to the current year. 

For example, my birthday, 6th April, is 6 + 4 = 10, which is then reduced to 1. You then add 1 to the numerology of 2024 (2 + 2 + 4 + 0 = 8). My personal year this year has been a 9 (8 + 1) which is a year of completion, release, resolution, transformation and letting go.

Knowing that I’m at the end of a nine year cycle gave me both enormous relief and a sense of comfort. Suddenly things made more sense. The enormous fatigue and overwhelm I feel at the end of this year now feels more meaningful and purposeful, and I’m ready to let it go. This New Years’ Eve, I’ll be sitting in quiet gratitude and an intention to release all of the pain and struggle of this year, and open myself to a whole new numerological cycle in 2025 with new beginnings and fresh starts next year as I got into a ‘1’ year.

Is Numerology real? I don’t know for sure. But it gives me enormous comfort when I put things into that context. And that works for me.

The word I’ve chosen for 2025 is EXPANSION. It’s time to step up and into a whole new playing field.

I’ve been bumbling along for too long, just surviving. I’m ready to level things up now.

Watch this space, ha.

What’s your personal year number? Does it help provide perspective for you? I hope so.

And in any case, whichever year you’re in, I wish you the most amazing festive season and restful break as you too prepare for another exciting year ahead.

Thank you for being in my world this year.

I look forward to connecting with you again in 2025.

In service to your success,

Kate De Jong
Inspired Business
Helping Startups and Small Businesses Succeed
+61 424 176 658
[email protected]