Measuring Growth
I think one of my favourite things about growing up is taking a moment to draw a little line on the wall and see how far you have grown.
In the spirit of that this time of year is always a great moment to take a breath and reflect on how you have grown this year. Every year I come back to this list of questions and slowly work my way through them capturing and reflecting on what has been so powerful. Now usually I avoid asking myself too many questions as it can lead to overanalysis. But seeing as it’s the end of the year it felt like the right moment to treat myself.
There are a lot of questions here – you don’t have to do them all. Pick your favourite 10 and go for it. Or work through them in whatever way suits you best and enjoy celebrating the moments that have made your year and recognising how much you have grown!
QUESTIONS – LOOKING BACK:
What one event, big or small,would you tell future generations about?
If you had to describe your 2022 in 3 words, what would they be?
What new things did you discover about yourself?
What single achievement are you most proud of?
What made you feel most playful?
What was your favourite place that you visited in 2022?
Which of your personal qualities turned out to be the most helpful this year?
Who was your number one go-to person that you could always rely on?
Which new skills did you learn?
What, or who, are you most thankful for?
If someone wrote a book about your life in 2022, what kind of genre would it be? A comedy, love story, drama, film noir or something else?
What was the most important lesson you learnt in 2022?
Which mental block(s) did you overcome?
What 5 people did you most enjoy spending time with?
What was your biggest break-through moment career-wise?
How did your relationship to your friends/family evolve?
What book, podcast, movie affected your life in a profound way?
What was your favourite compliment that you received this year?
What little things did you most enjoy during your day-to-day life?
What cool things did you create this year?
What was your most common mental state this year (e.g. excited, curious, stressed)?
Was there anything you did for the very first time in your life this year?
What was your favourite moment spent with your friends?
What major goal did you lay the foundations for?
Which worries turned out to be completely unnecessary?
What experience would you love to do all over again?
What was the best gift you received?
How did your overall outlook on life evolve?
What was the biggest problem you solved?
What was the funniest moment of your year, one that still makes it hard not to burst out laughing when you think about it?
What purchase turned out to be the best decision ever?
What one thing would you do differently and why?
What do you deserve a pat on the back for?
What activities made you lose track of time?
What did you think about more than anything else?
What topics did you most enjoy learning about?
What new habits did you cultivate?
What advice would you give your early-2022 self if you could?
Did any parts of yourself or your life change a lot this year?
What or who had the biggest positive impact on your life this year?
LOOKING FORWARD
What do you want the overarching theme for next year to be?
What do you want to see, discover, explore?
Who do you want to spend more time with next year?
What skills do you want to learn, improve or master?
Which personal quality do you want to develop or strengthen?
What do you want your everyday life to be like?
Which habits do you want to change, cultivate or get rid of?
What do you want to achieve career-wise?
How do you want to remember the year 2023 when you look back on it 10/20/50 years from now?
What is your number one goal for 2023?