Making Hope Tangible
December 21, 2022
Unspecial Days
January 4, 2023
What can this past year tell you? There are a lot of people you can learn from (and some who are best ignored but that is another post). The person who is your best guide is you. Taking time to review and learn from your own journey is the best way to decide how to move forward.
Gathering Wisdom
Before you jump into the new year, before you set any goals or resolutions, review your past year. Gather wisdom from the #1 expert in your life – you. Looking over your past year gives you solid information to use in planning the coming year. Get a notepad and scroll through your personal history.
- Read through your calendar(s).
- Scroll through your photo gallery.
- Look at your own posts on social media.
- Review your work queue.
- Walk through your house and see what has changed.
- Take a deep breath and notice changes in your physical self.
What have been the notable events in your life? If this past year were a book, what would you title it? Take some time to savor the positive memories from this year. As always, take a break as needed to feel your feelings. None of us live a perfect life, do not let the negative voice take over your review.
Sifting Through
Now that you’ve taken stock, it’s time to begin to make sense of it all.
Create four specific lists to help you sort out your year:
Gratitude for the Good Things
If you do gratitude journaling this might include scanning those lists and looking for the frequent flyers. Coffee and nature in many forms frequent my lists. This allows you to savor the good things that happened.
Acknowledgement of the Hard Things
Notice the difficult times or adverse situations that occurred. Notice what and who helped you get through. This allows you to see your strengths and to know where you can get help when needed.
What Went Well
These are the choices you made or the actions you took that went well. This focuses on your circle of control so you can savor and learn from your own abilities.
Lessons Learned
You learned things this year, especially when things you tried didn’t work out so well. When looking at these, focus on your circle of control. You are a work in progress, as we all are; this allows you to learn. It is a real gift when you can share these lessons learned with others so that they can perhaps skip that step themselves.
Looking Ahead
What would you like to do more of? What would you like to do less of? I particularly like to focus on “what went well” and how I can incorporate these ideas into my life. Focusing on the choices you made centers you in the areas of your life where you have control. The goal is not to wish for a better year, but to find the ways you can make this coming year better for you no matter the circumstances.
As I do my annual review, I will be posting some of my insights on our Facebook page and on LinkedIn. I hope that you will join me there and add some of your thoughts.
Wishing you a wonderful end to the year!
Peace, Laura
PS – One of my goals in the new year will be to expand the reach of these blog posts. If you know someone who might enjoy them, please share this link so they can join our email list.
