Annual Review Of Your Life

As another year draws to a close, it’s a good time slow down and reflect on the past. The year of 2020 has been full of disappointment, sadness and pain. It's not easy to see a silver lining when your life has been turned upside down by problems no one can solve. But, as we look back at our lives, there are glimpses of light we can harness and carry with us to a New Year and a New Life. 

We are all used to our annual professional reviews to make sure our professional goals are on track. Most of us also review our financial goals and insurance policies, but not so much our personal lives. I believe it’s important, if not more so, to step back and reflect on our lives to see how far we’ve come in the past year- what have we accomplished, what setbacks did we encounter and what have we learned along the way. Studies show that people who consistently evaluate and reflect on their lives are more successful, feel greater satisfaction in their personal and professional lives, and are happier.

How to conduct your annual review? Well, you can try to do it the way I do mine: Answer these four questions in as much detail as you possibly can:

1. What went well this past year? While there are many things that went wrong this year, I am sure you can find something that went well. Even the smallest thing counts. For example, during our lockdowns, I was able to learn to cook a few new recipes! I know, it might not be too exciting for some, but for those who, like me, aren't born in the kitchen, this sounds like a pretty good achievement.  Take a look at some other examples of good things that people appreciated this year.

So what went well for you? Think back and write down everything that you’ve done this past year: results you've achieved, things that you overcame, and how you felt through-ought the year. Include all areas of your life: family, relationships, financial, professional, health, fitness, spiritual and anything else that’s important to you. You might remember a few big successful accomplishments you achieved this year, but don't forget the little ones that made you smile or warmed your heart. We frequently don’t pay attention to small things and may not realize how significant our small accomplishments really are. You might be surprised at everything you’ve achieved!

2. What didn’t go so well this past year? Now, lets flip the question and think of things that didn’t go so well. What are some things that you wanted to accomplish, but “just never had enough time” for them or "life got in a way" of? Did you miss opportunities or made a few mistakes? Did you experience disappointment that you didn’t achieve results you expected? You don’t need to dwell on the negatives just write them down so you could see what changes you could make going forward. 

3. What have you learned? Learning is not only meant for your childhood years or college education. I believe that a lifelong learning is important- it enhances our personal, professional and social well-being. And what we learn best from is – our own accomplishments and failures! What are most important lessons you’ve learned this year? What worked and what didn’t? Is there anything you would have done differently if given a second chance? What would you tell a friend who is going through the same distress that you went through? Write down three most important lessons you’ve learned this year.

4. What do you want to achieve next year? Review your answers to the three questions above and then set your key goals for next year. I firmly believe that we need to live our lives purposely or the years will just pass us by, leaving us with many things unaccomplished as we wait to do them “someday”. I also believe that we tend to overestimate the amount of things we can do in a day, yet underestimate what we can accomplish in a year. So set your next year’s goals high! What do you want to achieve? What accomplishments would give you the most pleasure and pride? What would most help you advance in your career? Think about how you are planning to reach your goals. What steps do you need to take? Can you apply your past experience and learned lessons towards reaching your goals? What obstacles may stand in the way and will you need assistance or participation from others? If you want, you can also give a theme or a message for your next year. 

For example, my year 2021 theme is “The Year of Recovery and Rejuvenation!” It's a fitting theme as the world is trying to climb out of the unprecedented crisis, but it's also very personal to me as I move through transitions in my life and career. Every decision I make will be filtered through the lens of recovering my health, recharging my career, and renewing relationships as I move into next phase of my life. I highly recommend adapting this instead of new year resolutions, because we all know, resolutions run out of steam and get abandoned really quickly.

To help with the annual review process I created End of Year Reflection worksheet. Feel free to use it as you reflect on the year that passed. You will quickly realize that you had actually had quite a few things that went well, while set backs and disappointments had turned into great lessons learned. 

When you think about what you want to do over the year and put down concrete goals and steps, they have a way of becoming a reality. While Life does change things, it doesn’t happen as often as you might think. Andy Warhol once said: “They say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.”

Happy Holidays!

*You can read this post in Lithuanian here*