10 questions to reflect on your 2018
Every year brings different experiences and learnings that enrich our lives. As you approach the final weeks of the year, it's a great time to reflect on your personal and professional experiences.
In this blog post, we'll explore ten questions to help you reflect as well as share a high-level view of my year. Get comfortable, get a cup of tea, grab your notebook and go on a reflective journey of the year 2018 - your experiences, achievements, and challenges.
How to get the most benefits during your reflection?
Let's start with a few guiding principles:
Be grateful for all your experiences.
Celebrate your achievements.
Draw learnings from the negative experiences.
Prepare and plan for growth next year.
What tools can you use during your reflection?
Ask yourself questions - they help pull out some thoughts that may not be front of mind.
Look into your journals and calendars - the best way to remind ourselves of things we did
Talk to your family and friends - sometimes people remember things we don't or have a very different perspective that can enrich our lives
Ten questions to help you reflect on the whole year.
#1: What was the theme of 2018?
If you were asked to summarize your year in one sentence what would it be? Write down a few sentences or phrases that come to mind and then select one after you answer the other questions.
#2: What happened this year?
You might have to spend some time on this question. Try to remember the things that happened from January to December. The primary objective is to ensure that you reflect on the year as a whole, not only snapshots in time or most recent memories. Write down every month and summarize your experiences in those months.
#3: What were your highlights of the year?
Starting from a place of gratitude provides fuel for you. Reflect on the achievements and positive experiences you had this year. Naturally, we tend to forget the positive experiences. If you need some support remembering, ask people around you or review feedback people shared with you.
#4: What did you learn this year?
Especially when we have negative experiences, it is easy to feel regret and other negative feelings. Let's reframe those experiences a little and identify what we learned about ourselves, our career and our relationships.
#5: Who were the most important contributors?
The main objective of this question is to help you identify your support community. It is essential to acknowledge and appreciate the people in our lives that contributed in one way or the other. Think about how your family, partner, friends, teammates, mentors or sponsors supported you throughout the year.
#6: Where did you let self-doubt stop you from doing something?
As you prepare for the new year, it is important to be aware of the opportunities you missed because you doubted yourself. Reflecting on these opportunities gives you a clear view of the areas where you can decide to make a change.
#7: What did you do although you were afraid?
This is one of my favorite questions. Following the previous question, reflect on the bold moves you made this year. Write down the small and big things. The objective is to remind yourself of the great things you did even though you were not confident. Congratulations you did it!
#8: What inspired or motivated you this year?
Being aware of what drove us to be our best in a year is crucial. It could be the same things that motivated you in the past or new motivators. As you plan for next year, you want to ensure that you build on these inspirations.
#9: How did you invest in yourself in 2018?
Your personal growth should always be a priority. Write down some ways you invested in yourself and promoted your growth. It could be books you read, events you attended, courses you took, new roles you accepted or self-care.
#10: How did you give back this year?
It is essential to make giving back a part of our lives. With this question, we want to summarize the times we were self-less and did something for someone else that had a positive impact.
Marie-Christin's year in summary
Theme:
2018 was a year of many unexpected twists and turns.
Summary:
This year has been exciting on many levels. Thinking back, I can't believe everything I did this year. My year in numbers:
Wrote almost 60 blog posts
Interviewed for 4 positions
Had 2 Jobs
Attended 4 weddings
Traveled my 2 home countries
Built a new support community with 12 women
Spoke at 3 events
Had tears and disappointments
Highlights
I asked myself what I was most proud, the four things that came to mind were the following:
Starting my blog
Speaking at events
Starting a new Job
Having a photo-shoot
Lessons
There were a lot of valuable lessons I learned from the disappointments.
No matter how much you plan and prepare, some things will be out of your control.
There are good ways to deal with disappointment. Don't stay down!
Taking a bold step will open the doors to other great opportunities.
Thank you for being a part of my journey in 2018!
Great Resources
