Let’s be honest: Not every year is the “best year ever.”
Some years feel like a slog. Some are disappointing. Some years leave you feeling deflated and defeated.
When you reach the end of those years, you may just want to close the door on the year without looking back. Maybe you don’t feel like you have much to celebrate and you don’t want to wallow in regret or disappointment.
A year-end review can help you reframe even the most challenging years.
Even in the worst years, it’s likely that you had some magic moments, some wins to celebrate, and things to be grateful for. There were unexpected surprises, people who showed up for you, pockets of support.
Reflecting back to find them can give you a boost as you head into the next year.
It’s also true that resistance can be a mighty force and you may not have the energy to fight through it.
Still, it’s important to get closure on the year that is ending, because without closing the door on the year that was, you end up dragging the crud into next year.
3 Simple Questions to Wrap Up Your Year
If you’re ending this year feeling like you just don’t want to engage in a full year-end review ritual, here’s a “minimum viable version” with three questions to answer.
- What Do You Want to Remember? Every year has highlights and lowlights. When all is said and done, what you choose to remember from the year will shape you for years to come.
- What Do You Choose to Leave Behind? Every transition point in life invites us to consider which parts of ourselves we wish to leave behind as we step forward into new possibility. What ways of living, being, and approaching life do you want to leave behind?
- What Are You Taking With You? Even in a tough year, there are still good things to take away. You get to choose: what are you taking with you into the new year?
How to Contain the Year-End Review Process
One reason we tend to avoid the year-end review is because the process can easily spiral out of control.
Here’s how to contain the process to avoid it becoming an energy drain:
- Pull out your journal and a pen.
- For each question, set a timer for 10 minutes max to free write your response.
- When the timer goes off, move on to the next question.
Don’t overthink it, and don’t read what you wrote in the moment. Trust that the act of writing it down will get it out of your system.
After 30 minutes, close the notebook and move on. Let the act of writing be the ritual that clears your system so that you can start fresh with a new year tomorrow.
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