I know you might not be up for days of self-reflection, but it’s always good to take stock of where we are and how far we’ve come. When working through the questions below, feel free to think about all aspects of your life. We are whole people, so even if not much happened in one area of your life, I bet there were things happening elsewhere. Here are a few questions to kick off your process!
- What am I proud of in 2019? Whether it’s an athletic achievement, a work promotion, or just losing your shit puffs less often with your kids, I’m sure you have something to be proud of! Remember it, so you can build on it in the coming year.
- What were my biggest disappointments in 2019? There’s always a few things that don’t turn out as we’d hoped. I try to learn from the disappointments; is it something that just needs more time? Is there a reason it didn’t happen? This can help you decide what should happen to that goal for the coming year. When reviewing my goals for 2019, I had publishing my book on there. One year later and we’re still editing and pitching, and I think I was just unrealistic about the pace of the process. No worries, I just put it on there again for 2020!
- What do I wish I’d done differently? No need to wallow, but it doesn’t hurt to spend a few minutes thinking about decisions or actions you might regret. No need to repeat bad history!
- What gave me energy this year? What depleted my energy? Don’t just think about the things that made you tired (I’m looking at you, parents of toddlers). What are the parts of your life that you get most excited about and want to spend more time on?
- What didn’t get done and why? This is one of my favorites! Focus on the why. Is it something you still want to happen? Then prioritize it in 2020, and don’t feel the same regret a year from now.
I know it might feel like a lot of work, but taking this time to reflect can really help set you up for success this year. I encourage you to write down your answers to these questions, as well as the ones we’ll talk about next week, so when the end of 2020 comes you can reflect on just how far you’ve come!
And hopefully, some of your not-so-great moments from 2019 will have dropped out of view.
Want to hear my answers to these questions? Watch this video for the good, the bad, and the ugly of my 2019.
