Get Ready for the New Year by Reflecting on What Went Well
As the year winds down, it’s a great time to recall the highlights. Looking for and recognizing what went well lets you savor the bright spots—boosting positivity and helping you reset.
Even if you’ve faced personal or professional challenges, reflection helps you not only remember those feel-good moments, but also create intention around the new year. What experiences and adventures would you like to have more of or even try for the first time? What goals, projects, or successes would you like to build on or start?
When you appreciate the positive, you aren’t ignoring painful or difficult experiences. We can hold space for both joy and sorrow at the same time. You’re simply giving yourself a chance to acknowledge and revel in the good that exists in your life, which evens out our human tendency to focus on the negative.
So, cap off the year with a positive look back. Put on some music, sip a beverage, sit in your favorite spot, and give yourself a half hour to write down your reflections.
To get started, take out a pen and a piece of paper, and then pick from the prompts below.
Life Categories
Brainstorm what went well by exploring various categories of your life. For example, you might consider:
● Personal Growth
● Family
● Relationships
● Work
Feel free to create your own categories, and include all types of responses, big and small. Maybe at work, you received positive feedback from a difficult client or got promoted to a senior position. Maybe you and your partner enjoyed a fun weekend getaway or grew closer overall. Maybe you finally ran a 5K or completed a home project on which you’ve been procrastinating.
Sentence Starters
You can also pick from a few powerful sentence starters I commonly use with my coaching clients. These are some of my favorites for self-reflection:
● I am grateful this year brought _____________.
● This year I learned _____________.
● This year I felt most energized by ___________.
● I am most proud of ______________.
● My most meaningful moment was ______________.
● I felt most content when ____________.
Five Senses
Another way to reflect on the year is to use your senses as a guide. What wonderful things did you see, smell, taste, hear, and feel? Again, these moments can be big or small. For example:
See: The beautiful, orange sunset that night last summer
Smell: The fresh pastries at my local bakery
Taste: My birthday dinner; my partner made my favorite meal
Hear: The concert I attended this summer
Feel: The softness of my new puppy’s fur
You don’t have to spend hours on these exercises. Spending even just a few minutes reflecting on your year can be powerful. Hardships often overshadow smaller, sweeter moments, and sometimes we simply forget about the positive experiences. By naming and savoring these moments, we remind ourselves of all the wins and wonderful times worthy of celebration. And we set ourselves up for a positive new year.
This post originally appeared on the meQuilibrium Cup of Calm blog.