Here we are, once again, at that “crease” in time that separates one year from the next. One more trip around the sun has been logged.
So tell me, how has your 2103 been? What kind of year has it been for you?
Time for a review. That’s right. Hey, you just lived another entire year—at least take a few minutes to look at it! You owe it to yourself.
Here’s a list of some suggested questions to ask yourself. Some of them are rather deep. You don’t have to answer them all--pick and choose accordingly:
- What were you successful at? Be specific.
- How did you become successful at this? What did you do, what was your process, etc.
- What people helped you to be successful at the aforementioned?
- What didn’t go as well as you would’ve liked in 2013?
- What do you need to do a better job of in 2014?
- What challenges did you face courageously, regardless of the result?
- What challenges did you avoid more than you would’ve liked?
- What would you do differently if you had a “do-over”?
- What do you regret?
- How have you gotten stronger as a person?
- How have you gotten smarter?
- How have you gotten wiser?
- What did you do that you’re really proud of?
- What were your most meaningful “wins” and victories that you experienced (large or small, it doesn’t matter, as long as they’re meaningful to YOU)?
- What were your most difficult losses?
- What are you grateful for? I want you to have a long list here. If it’s not long, you’re either not thinking hard enough, or you’re in the wrong state of mind. No matter how hard your year was, there are still many things to be grateful for!
- What did you learn--what were your most important “learnings”--about yourself, about life, about someone else, about people in general, etc?
- What gave you happiness and joy?
- What made you cry? Or if you’re not a crier, what made you most sad, or broke your heart?
- Who did you miss seeing, and wish you saw more of?
- How have you grown?
- Who do you need to forgive?
- Do you need to forgive yourself for anything?
- Do you need to apologize to anyone and ask their forgiveness, and if you’re a person of faith, do you need to ask God for forgiveness for anything?
- What or who inspired you?
- What or who motivated you?
- Who/what people encouraged you and lifted your spirits during a challenging time?
You had a very full year—filled with what, only you really know. If you take some time and ponder, you’ll see that you experienced a lot.
Learn from the year. Appreciate what happened, as experiences that have added richness, depth, and texture to your overall human experience, however difficult they may have been.
Now, get going and move into 2014 with optimism, strength, and confidence! My next blog post will get you headed in the right direction.
--Sean Cox, Chicago