December has a way of stretching people thin in ways they rarely acknowledge. Their rhythm becomes uneven. Some days are jammed with client work and year-end deadlines, and other days feel strangely still. Add holiday travel, family expectations, budgeting, gifting, and the emotional weight of looking back on another year, and it becomes a month that tests anyone’s steadiness.

What people often overlook is that December is not only exhausting, it is also a month of important choices. This is when goals get set, conversations begin, opportunities surface, and instincts get louder. Some of the most meaningful shifts I have seen clients make began in moments like this, when the noise softens just enough for their real needs to come forward.

So the question is not whether to make decisions in December. You absolutely should. The real skill is learning how to make them wisely, especially when your energy is stretched in every direction.

Here are a few ways to make steady, grounded choices even when your bandwidth feels limited.

1. Do not confuse stress with instinct.

Stress pushes you to fix something immediately.
Instinct points you toward what belongs to you.
They feel similar in the moment, but they take you to very different places.

Before you choose a direction, pause and ask whether you are reacting to pressure or responding to possibility.

2. Know what you want before you evaluate anything.

An opportunity only matters if it supports the kind of work and life you want to build next. Otherwise, it is just noise with persuasive packaging.

Choose your top three priorities for next year. Let those guide what deserves your time and attention.

3. Talk it through with someone steady.

When you are depleted, your view of your business becomes distorted.
A grounded conversation brings the edges back into focus.

You do not need to untangle big decisions alone.

4. Let excitement speak. Let fear speak. But do not hand either one the steering wheel.

Strong decisions come from the space between those two voices.
Most people only listen to one.

5. Remember that your power is not in the opportunity. It is in the way you choose it.

Your career is not something that happens to you.
It is something you shape.
Every step forward should feel like a partnership between your ambition and the environment you choose to grow within.

Coaching Corner: Choose What Feels True, Not What Feels Urgent

You do not need a perfect vision for next year. You only need enough steadiness to choose from intention instead of exhaustion. When you make decisions from a settled place, you create momentum you can trust. When you choose from urgency, you create cleanup.

If you are exploring new opportunities, rethinking your structure, or simply trying to make one solid decision before the year wraps, reach out. This is the work I support agents and leaders through all the time, especially in a month as emotionally layered as December. A thoughtful conversation can help you separate what is real from what is just seasonal pressure.

You deserve a business that feels like it fits you.