Many of us may be quick to say good riddance to the current year and are solely focused on a fresh start. But don’t jump ship just yet! Consider taking time to do an end-of-the-year reflection.
Why? This is an amazing opportunity for you to recognize where you have had success this past year, and where you still have room to improve. When you don’t take this time to reflect, you are more prone to repeating the same mistakes + staying stagnant into the new year. And who needs that?! While I know many of you fellow creatives may already be accustomed to doing a numbers inventory (ie, where did I see the most profit? Where can I increase our prices? How many clients/customers did I have? Where did I have the most expenses?), I want you to also invest some time into reflecting on how this past year made you feel. Did this past year make you feel like shit? Are you proud of yourself? How do you want to feel going into the new year? When you reflect on how the year made you feel, it will help you to be intentional with creating the beliefs that lead you to those feel-good feelings you desire for this upcoming year.
So what does a year-end reflection look like for me? The 3 key components that I like to reflect on are: what worked well, what didn’t go as planned, and what can I do differently. Keep reading below to dive deeper into what that looks like.
#1 – What worked well?
If you are a perfectionist goal-getter like myself, you may be always focused on how you can improve or how you can be better. But don’t forget about all the amazing accomplishments that you nailed this past year. Take a moment to sit down with a pen + paper and reflect on all of your victories this past year.
– What were your accomplishments?
– When did you feel most rewarded?
– How did you grow as a person last year?
– What are you grateful for?
– How did this year surprise you for the better?
– What have you overcome this year?
This is a great way to build up your confidence + pride within yourself to give you some forward momentum into the new year. We can be so quick to brush off the accomplishments as we move on to the next goal, but creating a solid foundation of what you already have accomplished will make your next goals so much easier to achieve.
#2 – What didn’t go as planned?
I know, I know…it’s annoying to keep thinking about all the things that went wrong. You just want to be over and done with the bad. But don’t shove the mishaps under the bed with all the shame + embarrassment that might be still lingering. When you reflect on past challenges it will help you to process negative experiences that may arise in your future. Here are some questions that you can reflect on.
– What mistakes did you make?
– What mistakes are still holding you back?
– What disappointed you most this past year?
– Why do you think you made those mistakes?
#3 – What can you do differently in the new year?
This is where the real magic happens. This is your road map to create the changes that need to happen in order for you to reach new heights next year. This is the part that is going to take the most work but the reward is so worth the effort. I promise! Some questions that you can ask yourself are:
– How would you have done things differently?
– What do you wish you would have known at the start of this past year?
– What can you learn more about in order to make yourself better?
– What are some actions you can do to make improvements next year?
– What obstacles can you anticipate now?
– What strategies can you come up with to overcome these obstacles?
– How do you want to feel going into the new year when thinking about your goals?
– What would you have to believe in order to create that feeling?
The Big Picture
The past couple of years has been challenging for pretty much every single one of us. And there are likely to be more challenges in the future as well. But it’s all in how you think about it. Create room for growth without bashing yourself for the things you may have done wrong. Look at your challenges with curiosity and the world will be your oyster. Best wishes to you in the new year!
Are you wanting to reach some big goals in the new year but need some guidance with how to do it?
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