To create your future, first reflect on your past.
As we enter the year of 2023, millions of people are setting new year’s resolutions, dreaming of new lives and lifestyles, ready to get fit, rich and happy.
Anticipation and expectations are high, the goals set are even loftier.
But we all know how 99% of these goals end? How by the end of January, we’ve already forgotten what we were going to achieve. In fact many people just stop setting new year goals altogether, if you don’t set any then you can’t fail.
I will be honest, I am not a fan of new year’s resolutions either, but I do love using the period of a year as a time frame for tracking goals, reflecting on progress and taking the time to look at my life. It is a natural time of year to reflect on what’s happened and consider the path you are on. It can be a good time to see the difficulties that you’ve overcome, the issues you still face in life. And it can be an excellent time of year to slow down and think deeper about what you want from life.
Year’s end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us. — Hal Borland
To understand what you want from life, you must first understand where you are right now and how you’ve gotten there. A good starting point is to reflect on your past year. What things have happened this year? To you personally or within the world more generally? How have you reacted, learned, grown, accepted these things? Asking yourself questions and taking the time to see what kind of answers come to you can offer a wealth of personal development and a deeper understanding of your journey.
We are so often lost in the big goals we set for our futures, that we forget to celebrate the small but monumental steps we have taken to get where we are today. And sometimes one small future step in the same direction can change a lot more than chasing a wild goal in a different direction. Sometimes we don’t need more, but less, or even slightly different. The more we can know ourselves and where we are, the better equipped we are to create our futures.
I have gotten so much value over the years from reflecting during the year’s end. From acknowledging what’s happened and deciding where I want to go next. And I want to encourage others to reflect on their own lives’ too. This is why I created a year planner workbook, as a guide to help others slow down and reflect in the same way. All you need is a pen, an hour or two and some paper. The planner prompts will allow you to question and then write down your responses. Paper is patient and the act of asking and then writing allows you to slow down and listen a little clearer to your true self. For some, the planner might offer a new form of self-discovery, for others clarity or resolve.
To create your future, you must reflect on your past, for it is how you got to where you are now. The Gift of a Year Planner will help you create a vision for your future and even help you set worthwhile goals, but the two parts go hand in hand, a dance of past and future.
2023 has arrived, but what journey has brought you here?