8 Questions to make the most of your 2019.
It’s around this time of year that a lot of people start looking forward to the year ahead…
Resolutions, goals, visions etc.
While this is all important, I believe one of the most important tools we have to move our lives forward…is simply looking back.
We learn from our experiences when we take the time to integrate them. We integrate our experiences through intentional reflection.
So, with that said, here are a few questions to reflect on 2019 and make your end of year conversations a little more interesting in the process. Eight prompts to go deeper with the family and friends you care about.
1. What were some of the highlights of my year? Achievements, moments, adventure etc. (what made them special?)
2. What were some of the biggest challenges of my year? (How did I overcome them? What did I learn from them?)
3. How did I grow this year? Ask Yourself “what skills, abilities and talents that did I get good at this year?” (Often helpful to think of this through the lens of personal and professional.)
4. What meaningful relationships did I create or deepen this year? (What made them meaningful?) Bonus points, reach out and tell them!
5. What were my favorite experiences with art/music/movies/literature? How did they impact me?
6. What didn’t I accomplish that I intended to? What kept me from getting it done?
7. What became clear to me this year that I want to remember? About myself, my work, the world and how I show up in it.
8. What am I most grateful for from the past year? People, experiences, lessons.
Why do this?
Asking people these types of questions is an act of service in and of itself:
- You create a space for them to reflect.
2. You show them that you value their experience enough to ask about it. Bonus: you get to learn from their answers.
When you answer these questions for yourself, you will honor the important moments of your 2019. You will synthesize the important insight and lessons that you want to carry into the year ahead.
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One of the things that is so important about this type of reflection, is that it can remind people just how capable they are.
The challenges they have overcome, lessons learned and milestones already achieved.
So, as you relive your year…
I hope you take a moment to honor yourself for being here and doing what you could with the energy and awareness you had available to you.
I hope you can find compassion for yourself and the things that didn’t turn out the way you had planned or would have liked.
I hope you allow yourself to receive praise and celebrate yourself for the challenges you overcame and meaningful achievements you have already accomplished.
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I have long believed that we are the accumulation of all the things we have done, what we are doing right now and whatever we do next.
We only have control over one of those…and it’s in front of us.
From this place of having looked back, your resolutions are much more likely to stick. I love the quote that if you have more than three priorities, you don’t have any at all.
As you head into 2020, what are three goals you are committed to in the new year?” (Make them tangible)
For me:
Book deal!
@weTribute app launched
@weJunto rite of passage curriculum created and distributed nationwide
Would love to hear what yours are.
Social research has shown that people are more likely to follow through on commitments, goals and dreams when they share them with people close to them.
So, start now. Drop your three commitments in the comments and let’s do the damn thing.
