Questions to ask yourself at the end of the year
It’s nearing the end of 2020.
What does 2021 hold for you after such a strange year? As an individual you may not feel able to make impact on the economy and the global issues that face us all, but you can certainly influence your own future.
As the end of the year approaches, it’s useful to spend a bit of time reflecting on the past year and thinking about what you want from the next one. Rather than setting New Year’s resolutions, use this approach to reviewing this year, learning and planning for 2021. An hour spent doing this will be much more useful to you than resolutions.
1. What did I learn? A while ago I took part in a project where for one month, participants were encouraged to notice and record in some way a new thing that we learned every day. I found it a really positive experience.
2. What was my greatest accomplishment? It is important to acknowledge our achievements and provides a healthy way to raise levels of self confidence and contentment. It’s also a great way to track our accomplishments.
3. What’s the number one thing to accomplish in 2021? Although there are now COVID vaccines, there is still a lot of uncertainty, so it’s very helpful to have something positive to focus on. Maybe it’s building up an emergency fund to give you more choices in your life, a career challenge or more time with your family. Whatever it is, it will give you something to focus on and work towards – that’s within YOUR control.
4. What have I struggled with in 2020 which might also affect 2021? Another learning point – acknowledging things you’ve struggled with helps equip you to deal more effectively with them in the future.
5. What was this year’s biggest time waster? Whatever it is, identify ways of reducing it, including setting up strategies to spend your time productively in 2021.
6. What are my top 3 goals for the next 3 years? If you know what you want, you’ll find ways to achieve it. Set yourself some realistic goals and notice how much faster you achieve them than you thought you would.
7. How have my actions in 2020 taken me closer to achieving those goals? Review what you’ve achieved in 2020 and how much closer you are now compared to this time last year. It will provide momentum to work towards them even more effectively next year.
8. What am I looking forward to in 2021? The answer can provide you with a source of motivation. If you can’t think of anything, set aside some time to do so.
9. What am I most grateful for? This helps to keep things in perspective and is something to not lose sight of.
10. If I knew I only had one week to live, who would I spend my time with? This is a helpful reminder of who matters to us most. Life is short … spend time with those you care about most.
These questions also work on a weekly basis – just substitute this week and next week for this year and next year.
Give yourself the gift of self reflection and spend some time answering these questions – you’ll be glad you did.
Photo by M Angie Salazar on Unsplash
