At the end of each calendar year, many people reflect and assess how their year went. Did outcomes align with your intended plans and goals, or did new opportunities lead you in another direction? Perhaps things went as planned, perhaps even better, or maybe not quite as you had expected. Regardless of which “category” best describes your year, there are always so many lessons learned through new experiences and opportunities. Even something as simple as meeting new people and making new friends, whether personal or professional, can bring about fresh ideas, exciting collaborations, and possibilities you may have never imagined. Even reconnecting with old friends and colleagues can bring about these outcomes.
Yearly assessments are most helpful if they include everything in your life, not only your professional aspirations. Making plans to improve each area of your life is essential to living life to its fullest potential and minimizing stress while attaining fulfillment. It's important to acknowledge that your personal relationships, your personal well-being, and your personal lifestyle all contribute toward a complete evaluation. Leaving no stone unturned, even if it brings about any unease, is a helpful way to make improvements for the upcoming year and develop new plans to set you on the right path.
To conduct a more thorough evaluation, here are some questions to consider as you navigate through your year in review:
How would I summarize my year?
What did I accomplish this year?
How would I rate this year compared to the past ten years of my life?
What could I have done better this past year?
What went better than expected this year?
What new or old connections are adding value to my life?
What professional aspiration went unfulfilled this year?
What personal aspiration did I not accomplish this year?
What lifestyle aspiration did I not accomplish this year?
What is a new habit I am incorporating that is working well in my life?
What really stands out from this past year?
What would I like to continue doing well this next year?
What experiences from this year would I love to have more of?
How did I prioritize my personal life this year?
Does my personal life align with my professional life?
How did I prioritize my health this year?
What is the main hurdle I need to overcome to have an even better year?
Taking the time to look back at your past and answering these questions helps to bring into focus what practices you’ve adopted that create positive outcomes and those you want to continue. This reflection also allows you to identify habits and behaviors you’ve developed that brought about situations or results that you do not want to continue or repeat. Life is too valuable to ignore these considerations and to just let things happen by chance. Reflecting and planning procedures are essential to understanding how your goals and aspirations are progressing and how balanced your life truly is. As this year draws to a close, seek to reflect and discover the lessons you’ve learned, what routines you wish to continue or cease, and what actions are needed for how you would like your life to look a year from now. You are in the driver’s seat and you can create your life to be balanced, fulfilling, and remarkable.
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