You must engage in periodic strategic reflection. It is the only way to consistently increase your effectiveness. After all, you are the only one who lives your life, knows your experience, and is capable of truly changing yourself for the better. The end-of-the-year is the perfect time for strategic reflection. The calendar's conclusion is a natural time to look back. Here are five simple and effective ways to make the most of the December's end to improve your life and business:

More end-of-year advice, this time from Seth Kahan and Fast Company. Click through for five tips.

Brain Injury Dialogues reveals many invisible aspects of this disability; viewers see the wide range of deficits that survivors must face, both physically and mentally, and learn how no two brain injuries are alike.

It's an accurate, sympathetic, and empowering depiction of 5 survivors, including coauthor Rick Franklin. the film features interviews and commentary by disability experts, including notable disability advocate Zona Roberts and Cognitive Therapist/ Teacher Becky Stone of the College of Alameda.

Brain Injury Dialogues; Run time: 52 minutes, closed captioned, with an additional 25-minute bonus feature of TBI survivor and disability scholar Mark Sherry of the University of Toledo speaking with a
support group in an Oakland, CA public library.

The documantary is priced at $25, making it easily affordable for virtually every library, school, rehab or therapy center, support group, and of course individual survivor and their family and friends. The price includes postage and handling in the USA, Canada and Mexico.

I wish this was more detailed, but I'll do a web search for more information. Strikes me that well-produced videos could be a great resource for orientation and reference of brain injury survivors.

4. We aren't emotionally connected to what we're saying. We may be reciting a report or going through a scripted talk we've given dozens of times in the past, and our lack of excitement results in non-stop, often monotonal diatribe that leaves the audiences as bored as we are.

I've copied only the fourth reason, the implications of which stun me. Click through for five more reasons (and some fine analysis) from Rich Hopkins.

More from Rich on this topic.

As we approach the end of the year, it is a good time to reflect upon the meaning of our lives and work, as well as focus on the things that and people who really matter the most to us.  Of course, there are many folks who just want to put 2009 behind them with a “good riddance” sigh of relief.  Let’s face it, it has been a very difficult, challenging year; one that we’d probably like to forget.  The economic climate proved to be more of a perfect storm.  Like a tsunami, it generated monstrous waves that were intent on destroying anything in their path.  And economic concerns were not the only source of turbulence, fear, and insecurity during the year.  In this regard, I’m sure that the mass media’s “end of the year” reviews will provide many other examples of why 2009 is a year that deserves to be forgotten. 

More on End of Year reflection, this time from Alex Pattakos.

What are you going to do now to make sure you have your best year ever? What one thing will mean the difference in actually achieving your goals rather than chalking them up to yet another year’s unfulfilled resolutions? What can you do to enhance an aspect of your life that you’ve neglected in your single-minded pursuit of that elusive brass ring? Think about it.

Year-end articles with advice on how to make next year a good year are starting to pile up. This one is from Success Magazine. Click through for a list of 44 ideas. I see that number 44 is "Lower your blood pressure." I should have seen this advice a long time ago.