In this special year-end bonus episode, Kristi invites you into her personal annual process of reflection and intention-setting. She recaps meaningful moments from 2025 — professionally and personally — and shares how consistency, seasonality, learning deeply, and honoring life outside of work have shaped her year. This episode offers perspective for trial attorneys who carry heavy work, reminding you that leadership, growth, and sustainability are built through intentional reflection and aligned priorities.

LISTEN HERE...

In this episode, you’ll learn:

1. Why taking stock of where you are is essential before setting goals

2. How seasons of life and career naturally shift — and why that’s not failure

3. What art, athletics, and storytelling can teach us about leadership and recovery

4. Why completing learning cycles matters more than chasing new information

5. How consistency is built through structure, accountability, and grace

6. The importance of balancing professional purpose with personal “otherness”

7. How reflection and intention-setting can ground you for the year ahead

Key Takeaway:

Growth doesn’t come from doing more — it comes from paying attention. When you intentionally reflect on where you’ve been and choose where you’re going next, you build consistency, clarity, and leadership that can sustain both your work and your life.

Favorite moment:

The insight drawn from watching elite athletes recover quickly from mistakes — reflecting later, but recalibrating immediately — and how that mindset applies directly to courtroom performance.

Links & Resources:

1. Full list & template: 2025: A Recap | 2026: An Intention https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-vW70ULQtv43emY7vimeke--9xvZAGuMKrDH_WExuy0/copy

2. Jon Acuff’s goal-setting framework and community https://jonacuff.com/remarkable-you-community

3. Foster Voice Studio speaking & training inquiries https://www.fostervoicestudio.com/workshop

Want more?

👉 Get weekly tips and techniques delivered to your inbox. Subscribe to "The Foster Files" Newsletter: https://www.fostervoicestudio.com/contact

👉 Follow me online for behind-the-scenes voice tips, mindset shifts, and strategies to help you lead with your voice in and out of court:

1. IG: https://www.instagram.com/fostervoicestudio

2. FB: https://www.facebook.com/fostervoicestudio

3. LI: https://www.linkedin/in/fosterthought

4. Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/fostervoicestudio/

Share this episode with a colleague or your trial team as you head into the new year. Be sure to tune in on January 5th for the first episode of Season 2 to hear Kristi’s 2026 Word of the Year and how it will shape the year ahead.

Thank you for being part of the Foster Fam — and until 2026, keep fostering your voice.

TRANSCRIPT:

Helllooooo! Hello Foster Fam! Welcome to this special bonus episode just in time for year's end. I think it's really important to do some kind of end-of-year wrap up, reflection, celebration, and vision casting. I do a very specific process every year, and have for 20 years, so I thought I'd just invite you into what I do and encourage you to do a similar exercise. This will be a little longer of an episode as I recap 2025 and look ahead to 2026, but I think there are some valuable lessons and takeaways for you sprinkled within my personal reflection. Things like consistency, leadership, learning deeply instead of chasing quick fixes, and how we stay grounded when our work—and our lives—carry a lot of weight.

As I said, every year, I do a Recap for the year, and I set some Intentions for the upcoming year. I recently heard Mel Robbins say something to the effect of that you can't know where you want to go unless and until you take stock of where you are. So, that's the recap part.

And, if you've been in the Fam for awhile, you'll know that I'm part of Jon Acuff's community which is all about goal setting — dreaming, planning, doing, and reviewing. So, that's the intentions part.

So, let's start at the top of my list: Shows I participated in.

You'll likely know by now that I have an extensive music and theater background. For 30 years I have been part of shows, concerts, recitals, theater classes, etc. And functioning in all kinds of roles, from Director, to Choreographer, to Performer.

So, as I look at my Recap for this year, it's the first time that I have not had any shows on the list. This is significant and worth noting, because it shows an important shift in my professional efforts, energy, and investments. It's not that the door is closed & locked shut, but a page has turned and doing shows is no longer my artistic and professional priority.

Life offers us SEASONS. We don't always know how long each season will be, but there are shifts of our focus, and there are times where we can say yes/no intentionally. If we pay attention, we can respond to these seasons with intention, and make choices that support what we want or need most right now. It's a real benefit of adulthood. We can be purposeful with our time, energy, creative outlets, and the work that we give ourselves to.

The next category is Shows/Concerts/Art I Attended.

Now, even though my participation IN shows is shifting a bit, I still draw tremendous inspiration from ATTENDING productions, lectures, and comedy concerts. Anytime I can see masterful communication that draws an audience in, suspends disbelief, and connects the attendees as one, I place HIGH VALUE on that. I don’t just enjoy it—I study it.

So, for me, I saw the national tours from Broadway come through Portland. I attended high school and community theater productions, as well as, a couple of science lectures for good measure.

As attorneys, while I'm not suggesting that you try to stage a production in the courtroom, I don't think it's a big stretch to understand the intrinsic value of artful storytelling, and the need to craft inspiring communication so the jury can form a group (like an audience) and you can step into leadership.

Next up were Sports Moments I Enjoyed.

Now, I continue to be surprised with just HOW MUCH I've been leaning into sports these last couple of years. I watch, of course, the big sporting moments that come around every year: all the cycling races in the spring, then the grand tours. And, football with multiple games a week and the Super Bowl.

This year, I added in March Madness—college basketball. I knew NOTHING about any of the teams or college programs, but I watched EVERY SINGLE matchup. And there was one thing that kept me riveted to the TV. One thing that made me keep wanting to study these athletes. And that was just how skillful they were at failure. Sure, there were tons of successes as well, but HOW they handle things going wrong, is absolutely REMARKABLE.

In the courtroom, there are lots of variables and things that can go different than how you practiced. Technical difficulties, objections, points that you can see just didn't land as you expected with the jury. It's easy to obsess over these and let them throw you into a negative self-talk spiral.

This is where we can draw some inspiration from athletics. They don't have time for spiraling. They recover instantly, recalibrate, and get right back in there. Sure, they're gonna review tapes later, but boy do they know how to release guilt and shame before they spiral and just get right back in the game. And that distinction—between reflection later and recovery now—is what really stuck with me. Forward momentum. So impressive! And some really valuable lessons for me, and for you.

Classes & Trainings were part of my 2025. I can't help it. I am an eager learner. I like learning new things and honing skills through classes, online communities, and coaching.

This year, however, was more about leaning into what I had curated in 2024. I became very selective about the voices of teachers that I listen to. I have been very intentional about who I allow to be my influencers.

Within our human nature, I think we are on the hunt for quick fixes, plug-and-play, easy answers. It's so easy to get caught up in the constant searching and flitting from course to course, or in your case, from CLE to CLE, in search for THE answer; THE thing that will create exponential growth and success for you. I get it.

My takeaway from 2025 though, and my encouragement to you, is that it is critical to complete learning cycles rather than just take in new information. Meaning, we all need, a safe and nurturing place to learn, but then we need to practice, and receive feedback, and practice some more in order to assimilate the knowledge. Without that full cycle, learning stays theoretical instead of transformational.

Knowledge acquisition is good, but knowledge assimilation is what actually leads to growth—personally, and professionally. It's the messy middle, where we allow for challenge and discomfort, where growth actually happens.

Okay, next category, is places I traveled.

In May, I traveled to one of my favorite cities, Nashville TN, because i was invited to be the featured presenter at the Class of our Own women's conference. Big thank you to Jean Martin, Kelly Hyman, and Dawn MacPhearson for bringing me out and welcoming me among all those seriously bad ass class action lady lawyers. Phenomenal conference!! We had the BEST time.

Then, In July, I was invited to speak to the Birth Injury Litigation Group at the AAJ Conference in San Francisco. What an incredible group of HEROES!! Seriously...their work is so sad, and they step up with such courage. Those folks were amazing and the conference was huge, and it was fun getting the chance to connect with other clients and friends throughout the weekend.

Now, self care is BIG on my personal agenda, and this takes the form of staycations, or local-ish trips. My favorite hot springs resort reopened this year after being closed to the public for 10 years. Very excited about that! And I got out to the beach with family and friends a couple of times for some rest and restoration.

—BREAK—

Each year, I like to highlight the people who particularly enhanced my life during that year. This always include my "inner circle," as well as faithful friends who sustain and refresh me, and some of the coaches who uniquely invest in me. I also include new relationships that blossomed through the year—like my accountability partners & my book club ladies.

I want to slow down here for just a moment to give a shout out to my coaching clients and the folks I've been allowed to partner with in their trial prep. I really can't express enough just how HONORED i am to work alongside you to strategize your teaching, storytelling, and courtroom communication tactics. The curiosity, courage, and willingness to experiment that you bring into our sessions is deeply touching. THANK YOU for playing along and being willing to stretch yourself for the sake of your clients and for the sake of potential jurors that will need to learn from you. You do amazing work and I'm so pleased to play a part.

Last few sections here…Of course a Recap wouldn't be thorough if it didn't include some of the sorrows and losses through the year. Grief is an ever present entity in our world, and celebrating the lives of beloved friends and family is a tremendous honor.

It's important to acknowledge, also, how grief coexists with our professional lives, especially for attorneys. You are confronted by terribly tragic situations, and are constantly navigating the impact of grief. It's a complex journey and you demonstrate such fortitude of spirit on a daily basis. You carry your clients' sorrows and losses with poise and with grace, and grant them dignity in the process. Beautiful work.

There are also Accomplishments & Celebrations to recognize. I've already mentioned the Class of our Own Conference and the AAJ opportunities, but I also was pleased to do some virtual trainings for the From Hostage to Hero group, and for the North Carolina Women's Caucus.

As a side note, if you or your organization needs a speaker for your events in 2026, reach out. I'll put the link in the show notes for how to contact me for speaking or training opportunities.

And, not to toot my own horn too much, but I want to celebrate that I created and produced 50 episodes of this podcast. Even though it seems like everyone and their mother have podcasts these days, I tell you what...there's a lot that goes into it, and being consistent is a challenge. So...(pat on back), "Good job, Me." Hahah!! Okay—celebration moment over. This is your cue to make sure to leave a 5-star rating and a quick review to share with me and others how you have enjoyed our weekly visits.

We're almost done here...

Next up is New Experiences I had. Like learning how to make homemade Pho, entering into my lentils and beans era (because, you know...fiber), and exploring my neighborhood trails and paths as I became an outdoor exerciser.

Notice, these are not work related. They are LIFE related. I need a healthy dose of "otherness" in my life because I know how easy it is to just be work-focused all the time. So, I have to prioritize non-work-related content just to balance me out a bit.

Okay, now let's blitz through the end of the recap here.

Books - this year was a cozy murder mystery year

TV Shows - I binged my way through espionage hits like The Diplomat, Night Agent, and Slow Horses. But also cooking competitions l watch with my mom. And the show that brings me the most joy and laughter, and is integral to my daily self care —TASKMASTER. Do yourself a favor and check it out on YouTube.

For Movies, I rewatched all the Jurassics in prep for the new release this year

Podcasts -  I loved getting introduced to Good Hang with Amy Poehler, and, Family Trips with the Meyers Brothers this year.

So, just to zoom back out to the process again…Finally, after I've done my Recap, I move onto my Intentions. I look at the intentions that I set at the end of 2024 to kick of this year and I assess — did I do them? Did I not? And, the added layer of grace is to recognize intentions that seemed good at the time, but as I auditioned them realized they just weren't right for me, either ever or just in this season.

This year, I had a mix of all three - did, didn't, and released.

After i assess the previous year, then I set my intentions for the upcoming year.

For 2026 I intend to continue with my exercise goals and my business goals. And I'm dreaming big about how Foster Voice Studio can grow and how I can increase my contributions and impact for the attorneys I work with. Oh! AND, I want to do Fantasy Football for the first time, so if you have any guidance on how to get into this, be sure to let me know.

"CONSISTENCY" was my word of the year for 2025, and it pleases me to see all the ways that I built in some structure and accountability in order to be consistent, AND all the ways that it was a challenge to be consistent. Be sure to tune in for the January 5th episode (the first episode of Season 2 of the Foster Your Voice Podcast) to hear what my 2026 word will be and how it will set the theme for the year.

Now, this was just an overview of my yearly process, and a few of my takeaways. If you want to see my complete list of "2025 A Recap. 2026 An Intention," I've put the link in the show notes. And i invite you to use it as a template to create your own list. You don’t have to do it my way—just do it your way, on purpose. Change whatever categories you want to fit the things you want to keep track of during your year. It's a practice. Be sure to let me know if you do it.

Thank you THANK YOU for being part of the Foster Fam! And until 2026...keep fostering your voice.