2020. I don’t even know what to say, it was so jam packed with crazy. It was full of trials and challenges for so many. Regardless of how 2020 went for you personally, you probably want to feel a little more empowered going in to 2021. Many people do resolutions, goals, or create a vision for how they’d like the next year to go. So here are some questions for you:
- Despite all that happened around the world, how intentional do you feel you were in 2020?
- In what ways did 2020 make you stumble?
- In what ways did 2020 make you grow?
Without clear answers to these questions, it’s not likely that you are going to face 2021 as purposefully as you could. As the saying goes, those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. That quote isn’t just for big, global, historical events. It’s vitally important at both the individual, as well as at the family or group level.
So how are you going to get answers to those questions? Ideally, you’ll be able to look back on a record detailing your experiences, thoughts, emotions, and reflections. You can use this to study your year and come up with some answers that will be so helpful moving forward. If you haven’t started keeping a journal, there’s no better time than now.
Note: If you are planning to start journaling but don’t have anything written to look back on at the end of this year, you can look back on photos and/or your calendar from the previous year and do the same exercise I am going to recommend below (although in my opinion, looking back on a journal will always be more effective).
You may be familiar with many of the benefits that come from writing in a journal. However, there’s another side to that coin that doesn’t get discussed as much: reading your journal. There are so many insights, patterns and perspective that can come from reading what you wrote in so many situations. By not going back and reading your journal, you leave a lot of learning and perspective on the table. If you want to have the best year of your life so far, you need to understand where you’ve come from.
If and when you do a past year review, here are some ideas to help it have the most positive impact on your perspective for the new year:
Find opportunities for compassion: You’re an imperfect person who lived through an imperfect year. You may be tempted to beat yourself up and make yourself feel small next to unmet expectations and repeat mistakes. Practice treating yourself as you would a close friend or family member as you reflect on mistakes, short-comings, and unmet expectations. How would you treat someone you loved deeply who had stumbled exactly the same ways you have this year?
Find opportunities to celebrate: In any year, but particularly during this year, we need to recognize and celebrate wins. They can be big or small. Take a moment as you’re reviewing your year to congratulate yourself. It’s important and validating to be praised for accomplishments, and that boost can give you momentum moving forward.
Look for trends and trajectory: Do you see patterns that lead to good or bad outcomes for you? Can you identify elements of your life that showed up again and again to either lift you up or drag you down? As you review your year, think about who you were on the path to becoming in 2020. This is where you are going to get a lot of the building blocks for your vision in the new year.
Look for how your environment helped or hindered: What aspects of your home/office/living room/kitchen/bedroom helped or hurt your progress? Powerful routines before bed and when you wake up are crucial to making each day look the way you want it to. What about your digital environment? What apps did you surround yourself with in 2020? Which ones resulted in a happier, more successful you? Which ones didn’t? Many experts believe that to create the life you want, you can’t just use sheer willpower. You need to craft your environment so that some choices are made for you and some aren’t even on your radar.
If you’re an active in journaling, it may take you a a while to read through your year. But I promise you, the effort will yield awareness, perspective, and clarity that you otherwise wouldn’t have. When you’ve completed the prior year review you’ll be ready to craft your vision for the coming year.
There are many ways to go about that, and we will leave that up to you. But as to how prepared you are to create 2021, we can’t think of a more empowering way than what is outlined above.
If you’re looking for a new, more intentional way to journal, check out GoldMind! With GoldMind, you can schedule out the most important topics in your life so that you’re doing focused reflection on what’s important to you throughout the week. Then, for each scheduled topic, GoldMind provides prompts and questions to help your mind dig deep. This is a much more rewarding way to journal than starting with a blank page every day.
Answering powerful questions about the people, experiences, and challenges you face each day will increase your clarity, perspective, and awareness. Not to mention, it provides a wealth of information for you to learn from at the end of each year.
Happy New Year!
