The year is finally coming to an end.
This is the exact time many people make it a point to think about how the year went for them and what things they’d like to change or improve in their lives.
Here’s how to properly take a quick reflection at your year and assess your progress in a way that moves you towards your life goals.
First, you might want to recognise the things you accomplished and all the things you did well– the new skills you acquired, new habits you added and all the wins you had.
Then think about the disappointing things too– the mistakes and disappointments, and everything that didn’t go as planned.
If you really want to do this exercise, you’ll need to find a quiet place where you can carefully think and begin to deeply consider the events from the past year taking one month at a time.
Ask yourself these questions:
1. What are you most grateful about?
Many things happened within the year. Did you have some really spectacular moments with friends and family? Did you receive any good news or make any significant progress in projects that matter to you?
Or maybe you’re just grateful for life, good health, sufficient money, safety, peace and comfort. Write that down.
2. What were the 3 biggest achievements that you are most proud of?
What were the major positive outcomes from your life within the past year in business, family life, career, school etc.
Which financial goals did you set and actually reach? Which bad habits did you drop and which good ones did you learn to be consistent with?
3. What were the most challenging issues for you this year?
Which projects did you start and didn’t complete? Which bad habits did you consistently battle with? Which mistakes did you make that led to poor results? Which expectations were left untouched?
Maybe you made the wrong choices and it brought negative emotions or disappointing feelings especially when you had high hopes? Analyse these and think of how you can use the lessons you learnt as you move forward.
4. What is your most memorable event from this year?
What big things started this year? New job? New academic landmark? Moving into a new place? Family or relational milestones?
What new chapter started or ended in your life and what does it mean to you? This is the time to record the major life transitions you had and what special meaning they had for you.
5. What were the biggest lessons you learned from this year?
What new things did you learn or change your opinion about? Did you learn new information about politics, history, religion, beliefs, financial freedom, career development, building a business?
6. Did you take care of yourself properly?
How much importance did you place on good, healthy food, exercise, skincare, proper hygiene, clean environment, good health and having a clear mind?
Or did you sabotage yourself to get other random things done?
7. Did you spend your money, energy, and time in a way that’s beneficial for your future?
What took most of your time? Which significant problems came up that seemed like a critical issue at the time but ended up wasting your time?
Did you spend too much time on social media? What changes can you make moving forward?
8. What do you wish you’d done this year?
Maybe there were some projects you were too afraid to start or some connections you were too busy to make. Those might have cost you real progress in your life goals, but you now have another chance to start again.
What steps must you take to achieve these goals?
We care about your finances so here are some tips to do things differently next year. Choose one or two financial goals. We guarantee that if you work at them diligently from now, you’d have made so much progress by the end of next year.
1. Start a side hustle: Which business ideas or skills have you been considering recently? You can still explore them and start taking the first few steps to launching a new income stream for yourself.
2. Avoid debt: This new year is the perfect opportunity to eliminate credit from your financial history. Pay off any outstanding loans and try to live within your means so that you can be truly financially free.
3. Save at least 30% of your monthly income: This could be towards building a solid emergency fund or increasing your investment options. Just make sure you grow this habit as your earning potential increases.
4. Invest in your health: Whether it’s taking out a gym subscription, buying more fruits, getting a bigger water bottle or cutting off fast foods, there’s a whole lot you can do to show you prioritise the things that should matter to you.
Finally, it’s not too late to start building the life you want for yourselves. Here’s another 365 days ahead of you. Do with it what you think is best!
