“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”
― Søren Kierkegaard
2019 is coming to an end, and it’s time to review how it went.
End of year reflections are everywhere right now. Top 10 lists, Facebook memories, Spotify most listened to songs/artists (mine are embarrassing…). While all of this is nostalgic and entertaining, it doesn’t really gauge how successful (or not) of a year it was.
Regular self-reflection is vital if you want to set and achieve goals, learn from your mistakes and live your life by design. Being in the habit of reviewing your successes and challenges at the end of each day, week, month and year allows you to:
Recognize your accomplishments and celebrate what you did well
Acknowledge your mistakes so you can avoid repeating them
Reflect on skills you’ve acquired and lessons you’ve learned
Discover your passions and what brings you joy
Generate new ideas and fresh perspectives
Analyze how you could do better moving forward
An end of year reflection is also a valuable first step before setting any New Year’s resolutions or intentions. Before we move towards change, it’s important to take an objective look back in order to guide our decision making and goal setting going forward.
Below are 25 self reflection questions to close out 2019 and help you set yourself up for a successful, happy and healthy 2020. Grab a warm beverage, get cozy and take stock of your highs, your lows and where you want to go next.
Reality Check - 19 Questions About 2019
What are you most proud of?
What was your biggest disappointment?
How did you grow?
What held you back?
What were your most memorable, stand-out moments?
What skills/knowledge did you acquire?
Who needs to be acknowledged in your life? (Let them know!)
What did you complain about the most?
What are you most grateful for?
How would you describe your physical health?
How would you describe your mental/emotional health?
What was the most fun you had?
What caused you the most pain/stress?
What was the biggest obstacle or challenge you overcame?
What was the biggest mistake you made?
What lessons did you learn?
What was your single biggest time waster?
What did you want to do, but didn’t?
If you wrote a book about last year, what would it be titled?
Big Picture View - Looking Back to Move Forward
After reflecting on the above, take some time (a day or two) away from your responses. Come back to them and answer the following:
Overall, how do you feel about 2019?
How would you like to feel at the end of 2020?
In order for this to happen, what needs to be your focus? (think daily, weekly, monthly)
What do you want to do differently next year than you did this year?
Now What? - Setting Clear Goals
From here you can move forward with setting goals and a plan of action towards achieving them. While only about 8 percent of those who make New Year’s resolutions are successful in achieving them, this shouldn’t discourage you from setting goals for the New Year.
If I wasn’t a firm believer in our capacity to change I’d be in the wrong business.
Where people tend to go wrong with resolutions is by making them too vague (eat healthier) or too overwhelming (by attempting more than 3 or 4 at a time). In order for resolutions to be successful they need to be broken down into goals that are specific and actionable.
Get clear on what you want to accomplish, why it’s important and how you’ll make it happen.
What goal(s) would you most like to accomplish in 2020? And why?
What actions will you take in order to achieve your goal(s)? And how will you measure them?
The more specific you get when breaking down your goals into action steps, the more likely it is that you’ll accomplish them. When they’re reduced to manageable and measurable pieces, you’ll be able to track your progress and stay focused.
Along the way, be sure to check in regularly (daily and weekly) to review your progress. This habitual reflection allows you to celebrate your wins and to course correct when things aren’t going well.
So go ahead, set Big Goals for 2020. But remember:
Use what you know from your past to inform your decision making
Choose goals that are meaningful and valuable to you
Break them down into small actionable steps
Check in regularly on your progress. Acknowledge your successes, learn from your failures.
“You are capable of so much more than we usually dare to imagine”
― Sharon Salzberg
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