Many of you will not be sad to see the end of 2020 and probably will not miss it when it is gone. I join some of those feelings, but not without recognizing this year has been of great resilience and innovation on many fronts, starting with our personal lives.
Everything has a beginning and an end, including this unprecedented year. Robert Brumet, in his book Finding Yourself in Transitions, writes about the importance of processing endings. To embrace a new year, we must take the time to review and integrate what is about to end.
Katie Krimitsos, from the Women’s Meditation Network, asserts that we tend to forget to celebrate all the milestones we have had, all the blessings of the unplanned events, and honor the richness of the life we have lived that has brought us to this moment right now. Instead, we tend to focus on what is next.
These last hours of the year are a great time to come with a spirit of gratitude to review the year that is about to end. Celebrate all that has been, even the ups and downs, victories and failures, losses, and wins.
We produce results in four areas of our lives: Health & Wellbeing; Relationships; Vocation & Creative Expression; and Time & Financial Freedom. I want to invite you to consider some of these questions to help you review your year.
In the area of your Health & Wellbeing:
Health and wellness are a process of achieving one personal best state. Striving for optimal health implies seeking to be at your best emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually. This was a year that put our resilience and mental health to the test.
Here are five questions to help you assess your year in regards to your Health & Wellbeing.
- Do you have a fitness goal that you had accomplished this year?
- What is a positive habit that you adopted?
- How do you evaluate your physical health?
- How did you practice self-Care?
- What was your most common mental state?
In the area of Family & Relationships:
Every relationship is unique, and people come together for many reasons. This year we experienced the impact of social distancing. We had to compromise to remain connected with our loved ones even when we could not be in the same physical space. Regardless of your circumstances, good relationships do not happen overnight. They take commitment, compromise, forgiveness, and most of all — effort.
Here are five questions to help you assess your year in regards to your Family & Relationships.
- What meaningful moments did you experience with your immediate, extended, or chosen family?
- What are you proud of regarding your relationships?
- What significant relationship challenge you overcame?
- What was something you learned about other people?
- How have you grown as a spouse/partner, parent, son/daughter, sibling, friend?
In the area of your Career & Creative Expression:
This year the workplace transformed in many different ways. Remote work brought a new set of challenges and opportunities. Entire industries and sectors shifted. Millions suffered from job losses. Others were able to reinvent themselves and even thrive. What was for you?
Here are five questions to help you assess your year in regarding your Career/Vocation & Creative Expression.
- How have you grown in your vocation this year?
- What significant moments have you experienced in your career this year?
- What experiences in your job required that you change and shift?
- What new knowledge, skills and mindsets did you acquire?
- How did you express your creativity this year?
In the area of your Time & Financial Freedom:
Time is precious because it is not refundable. The first quarter ended with lockdowns that kept us at home with more time in our hands. We made decisions on how to invest the extra hours that were not invested in commuting to work or attending events. We also obtained results in the area of our finances.
Here are five questions to help you assess your year in regards to your time and financial freedom:
- What was your biggest time waster this year?
- What was a time saver for you?
- What was your best financial investment this year?
- What did you learn about money this year?
- What are you grateful for about money?
As you wrap up your year review with these twenty reflection questions, I want to leave you with the following tips to create perspective and help you integrate your year-end assessment.
- Recognize your accomplishments and celebrate your wins.
- Reflect on the lessons learned, as well as your new learnings.
- Acknowledge your mistakes and missteps so you can use them as self-improvement.
- Analyze how you could do better moving forward.
- Practice gratitude for what it was.
There is no doubt that 2020 has been a unique year on many fronts. Regardless of how many challenging moments that you had experienced, you had lived another year. Every moment had brought you to where you are. You have evolved, you have changed, you have grown.
Soon, you will have a fresh year ahead. There is a story that you want to tell next year. It is up to you to create.
And I will like to end with T.S Elliott’s quote:
“What we call the beginning is often, the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from”.