Often end of the year reflections become either a sweeping statement (it was a horrible year, let’s get it over and done with) or a giant to-do list exercise where you tick off everything you’ve done and carry over everything else into next year’s resolutions.

The truth is, it’s not just about what you’ve done. It’s also about who you’ve been, where you’ve been, what you’ve learned, and crucially what you’re taking with you into the next year.

So here are five questions I’ve found really useful for wrapping up the year:

1. What were your highlights?

What achievements will you give yourself credit for? What successes will you celebrate? What experiences did you particularly enjoy?

2. How did you show up?

What strengths did you lean on? What characteristics did you discover or develop? What attitudes did you choose? Who did you need to be to do what you did? Who are you becoming?

3. What did you overcome?

What did you struggle with? What tough times have you seen through? What battles have you been fighting? How we live in the hard times matter.

4. What will you leave behind? 

It’s amazing how much stuff we can carry with us, simply because we forgot to put it down. What do you need to release, to let go of and put to rest in this year?

5. What will you take with you?

What lessons are you taking with you? What foundations have you laid for the year ahead? What stumbling blocks will you use as your building blocks? What will you take away from this year to fuel and equip you for the journey ahead?

Happy reflecting! Feel free to leave a comment or drop me a line to share your thoughts – I’d love to know where these questions take you.