To Look Forward, Look Back: Thoughts From Red Sunflower Farm

Curious Questions from Observing the Everyday  

To Look Forward, Look Back

We grow a vast array of produce at Red Sunflower Farm, but I’m especially proud of our garlic. The cloves are enormous — and that’s not the result of dumb luck. It’s a direct and calculated result of careful planning and reliance on best practices in farming.

Every year we improve our farm by examining which crops did well and using those wins to inform future planting.

With our garlic, we take the biggest bulbs and plant those for the next harvest. The result? Even bigger bulbs!

The process compounds itself year over year.

Sound familiar?

Reflection is an essential part of running any business well, from farms to financial coaching firms. And a new year is a natural time in the cycle of life to pause and reflect. To look back. Not as a way of living in the past, but as a way of taking stock and using those lessons learned to inform your next steps forward.

If you haven’t already calculated your wins and losses from 2022, do so!

Ask yourself:

Where did you find your stride?

What energized you and brought you joy?

What surprised you?

Where did you fall short?

Identifying your missteps and generating a plan to correct those errors and grow is essential. But just as important (though sometimes overlooked) is the process of taking your wins and transforming them into even bigger wins.

Capitalize on your positive momentum. Take what you’re doing well and run with it. You won’t be sorry.

I’ll leave you with these curious questions:

What were your greatest wins in 2022?

How can you replant those wins in 2023 to yield even greater results?