Whenever a new year is about to begin, we start to look back over the past year and reflect on the things we did and didn’t do. It’s natural to think back to certain moments that you would have handled differently and certain chances that you missed out on. It’s easy to look back and beat yourself up about opportunities missed and things not going as you planned but this is obviously very pointless. We need to have a simple way to look back over the year and instead of regret, look forward with eagerness and excitement at what we can improve on. Self-improvement and development is a continuous process but the new year is a dramatic shift and it allows us to have a big review. This is much more dramatic than the usual self-assessment that we do at the end of the each day.
Here are a few points that will help us plan the New Year by reflecting on:
1. The things that went well in 2012
There were many decisions that you made last year. They are the reason you are in the exact situation you are in right now. You planned this so how did you come to these decisions and what good decisions did you make. What turned out to have a very positive impact on your life and how can you improve and replicate this so it happens more often for you?
2. The things that didn’t go so well in 2012
We did always have our smart hat on and ended up in situations that we would have rather avoided. How and why did you make that decision, and how can you avoid it from now on? Taking a step back and taking yourself through the thought process can help you understand it and avoid it. Improving your decision making is one of the most important sills in self-development and achieving success and there are no shortcuts.
3. The lessons learned in 2012
What are the new skills you picked up last year? It could be anything from learning a new language to learning to snowboard. How did you improve any existing skills and what do you want to learn in 2013? Set in place an action plan to do that and see yourself achieving that in the new year.
4. The people who helped and impacted you the most in 2012
We come across many people throughout the year. Most we forget and some we remember for the wrong reasons. Then there are some that help us along the way, provide some insight, or just fill our lives with energy. These are the people that we need to spend more time with in 2013 and the rest will have to justify themselves in the New Year.
5. Where you were this time in 2011 and where you see yourself at this time in 2013
You can’t deny that you’ve come a long way. This doesn’t mean that you couldn’t have gone further, but it does mean that it has been an eventful year. What have you achieved in the last 12 months? It could be personal, career, or a combination of the two. An important question to ask yourself is; ‘How much do you see yourself improving by this coming year?’. If you made $100,000 in 2012, how much do you think you can make in 2013? Where do you see yourself at the end of 20133 both financially and personally? What does it look like to have achieved that? Now, plan what actions you will need to take to get there.
Self-reflection is an important task if you want to develop any skills you currently have, find new ones to work on and to get more enjoyment out of your time. Surely there can be nothing more important in life.
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