Written by: Donna Carol Gray
Article source: JOY! Magazine

Can you believe it’s already December, the final month of 2023? It’s been quite a year, and many of us are eagerly anticipating the fresh start that the new year promises, eager to leave behind the trials and tribulations of 2023. However, before we bid farewell to the past year, I invite you to take a moment for reflection and review, to understand what 2023 has meant for you.

Reflection and review
To reflect is to think deeply or carefully about something. To review is to assess something with the intention of instituting change, if necessary. Reflection and review are essential for our process of learning and growth. Without pausing to look back on what we’ve learnt – what has gone well and why, and what can be done differently going forward – we lose the opportunity to make improvements where needed and to keep doing the things that we’ve done well.

Let me help you get started
Take half an hour to sit quietly and think back on the year that you’ve lived through. It may have been the hardest year of your life. It may have thrown at you things you never thought you were capable of making it through. It may have been the best year of your life, giving you opportunities and successes to celebrate. Whatever the year has brought you, take a moment to look back with gratitude on what you’ve lived and learnt.

Here are some questions to get you started:

  • What is something you’ve learnt about yourself this year?
  • What are the things you could have done differently? How can you do these differently going forward?
  • What are the things that 2023 has taught you about life, that you’d like to take forward with you?
  • What do you think you did well and would like to continue doing more of going forward?
  • Did you invest time in the areas of your life that matter to you? If not, why not?
  • Are the things that matter to you now still the things that mattered to you at the start of the year? If not, why? How have they changed?
  • What are the big moments that have shaped you this past year?
  • How have you changed? How can you take these learnings with you into the new year?

Moving forward with purpose
Instead of drifting aimlessly through the days and weeks as we step into the new year, harness these reflections to craft a proactive plan for establishing fresh habits and disciplines that will pave the way for a more purposeful 2024.

You CAN create the life you’ve dreamt about. Maybe you just need a place to start. Let me help you take the first step.

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Date published: 10/12/2023

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