The end of the year is quickly coming to a close and this is the time of the year that people start to ease into the holidays and take stock of the year that was. While more people are likely to make New Year’s resolutions than look at their year in review, the two are really symbiotic if you want to maximize your momentum going into next year.
When taking a look back at your year in review it’s incredibly important to put it into context and circumstances are extremely important and uniquely your own. You should not be comparing your year to anyone else’s. Unless of course you athlete looking to rake in a $20 million dollar contract.
What I mean by this is that if one person was diagnosed with cancer and was going through treatments in the previous year, their circumstances are much different than someone who is in peak health and received a promotion at the start of the year. It would be incredibly unfair to to judge these two people, or any two people for that matter, against each other.
This exercise is for you alone.
With that understood, there are three questions I always ask myself at the end of the year.
Did I move the needle towards the identity I am building for myself?
James Clear talks about supporting or changing your identity with activities that you do being a vote for that identity. Want to be a reader? Each time you open a book is a vote towards that identity.
I use my activity tracker to make sure my votes are going to the right activities during the year and that helps me to build the identity that I want. This year, the Human Constant was a big part of me building an identity as a writer.
As we head to the new year, the decision becomes whether or not I want to continue towards that identity or change it up to something else. It doesn’t have to be one thing, but you should keep it to two or three things that you really want to be known for. Any more than that and you won’t have enough time to dedicate to that which you want to be.
What kept me from doing my best this year?
This is where we acknowledge some of the things that held us back. Some of these things will be circumstantial and not our fault at all. Others will be self inflicted wounds that we can work on or clean up moving forward. It’s important to distinguish be tween the two.
We have to give ourselves credit for weathering the storms that come our way and acknowledge that they make us stronger. They also give us tools in our toolbox that we can use later on if the same adversity comes our way.
I often find that the self inflicted wounds are related to bad habits that I can’t seem to shake. Again going back to James Clear, if we can build an environment that promotes our good habits and reduces our bad habits, we can improve our results.
What was I doing when I felt my best?
This may be the most important question to ask of yourself. Looking back on the year, what were the things that made you feel the most alive. Was it a trip overseas? Was it when you were out in nature?
Whatever the answer to that question is, this is what builds the foundation of the identity you want to form going forward. When you begin to accomplish this, you will naturally begin to feel better about your direction.
Now it’s your turn to answer these questions. This week’s challenge is to do the self assessment of your year in review. It’s time to build your foundation for success.
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