For me, this time before the new year is a time to reflect and review 2019 and look ahead and prepare for 2020.
It is super important that we don’t just skate right through 2019 and head into 2020 and not change it up a little bit. It’s important that we do some introspection before the new year comes upon us and that we really live consciously from day to day. This is a time to draw some conclusions about the past year and the year coming up.
This exercise is not something that you do in an hour. You will need to reflect over the next week. Here are 15 questions to ask yourself about 2019 and 10 questions to prepare for 2020.
Reviewing 2019
Grab a 2019 calendar that you used this past year — it can be digital or paper. Open it up to January 2019 and start looking through some of the things that were on your calendar. Ask yourself these questions about 2019. I want you to really reflect on these questions and write your answers down.
- If this year was a movie, could you describe it to somebody? Were you were the protagonist or the antagonist? Who are the stars and who were the supporting actors? What was the climax of the movie?
- Describe 2019 in three impactful words.
- Who are the five people you enjoyed spending time with? On the flip side, who were some of those sandpaper people in your life who you didn’t gel with?
- Who could you always rely on in 2019? Who could you be vulnerable with?
- Jim Rohn says, “Reading is essential for those who seek to rise above the ordinary.” What books have impacted you in 2019? Reading is super important to me. You can visit my website where I list my favorite books.
- What new skills did you learn? Did you learn how to ski or did you learn a new computer program?
- What new habits did you create — good or bad? Did you exercise every other day? Did you stop smoking?
- What got in the way of your success in your business? On the flip side, what made a way for success?
- What tasks, habits or activities did you leave unfinished this year? Did you not plan well or did you run into some snags?
- Name three ways you were kind to yourself this year. Did you stop smoking? Did you take a walk every day?
- Did any parts in your life change drastically, like taking a 180-degree turn?
- What was challenging or disappointing to you in 2019?
- What was the biggest problem you solved?
- What little day-to-day things did you enjoy doing?
- What did you learn about yourself this year?
Preparing for 2020
These are questions you can ask yourself as we prepare for 2020. Write down your answers to each of these questions.
- What will you stop, start and continue in 2020?
- What personal qualities do you want to improve this year? Become more patient, be a better listener?
- What new skills do you want to learn?
- How will you use your gifts and talents in 2020 to bring value to your world?
- What areas in your life will you challenge yourself in? Maybe it’s that new business that you began or you are going to challenge yourself to eat healthier.
- What will you say No to this year? If saying No is an issue for you, watch my video on the topic.
- What do you want to see and discover in 2020? I really want to learn a little bit more about finance. My husband and one of my sons talk to me about finance and one of my goals this year is to learn more about it.
- What do you want your day-to-day life to look like in 2020? Do you want to wake up a little bit earlier? Do want to make sure you read the newspaper every morning? Do you want to make sure that you eat a balanced breakfast every day?
- What do you want for your spiritual life?
- What is your No. 1 business goal and what’s your No. 1 personal goal this year?
Don’t forget
Here are some reminders that I think are super important for us to not forget:
- You are a new person. You are not the same person you were in January 2019. You are not who you once were. You can believe in yourself. Your story isn’t over yet and you are here for a reason.
- Consider being vulnerable. Don’t be afraid to let people in. You don’t have to face hard times alone. You can be picky about who you let in, but let people in. Do not go through this world alone.
- Today is a brand new day. You woke up with breath in your lungs so you can wake up and embrace this new day. We can’t hit the rewind button and we can’t hit the fast forward button. We can live today. Enjoy it.
