The year of 2016 is almost finished. It will soon be in the past.
So before we start talking about 2017 – the New Year – let’s stop and remember the ‘old year’ from an objective viewpoint.
Why? Because if we don’t learn from the mistakes of our past, we will most likely repeat them. And now is the best time to do it!
Please grab a coffee and sit in a quiet spot with pen and paper, to gain the most benefit from your 2016 review. It won’t take long, but please take the time. It will be worth it!
My 1st tip: I cannot change what happened in 2016.
For better or worse, we have made the decisions throughout 2016 that we felt were the best decisions at the time we made them. We cannot take them back.
My 2nd tip: Decide what did and didn’t work in 2016.
As we all know, hindsight is perfect!
Some decisions I made I now know were definitely wrong; some decisions I made were definitely correct; and I’m withholding judgement on some other decisions because time will tell whether or not they were good decisions.
I’m sure you know the feeling. At the time I made a (very) few decisions, I knew I was probably making the wrong choice. Why was that? Was I feeling under pressure, or did I allow someone else to pressure me? Did I not listen to my gut instinct? Did I not have enough facts – not done my “research”? As I look back, what were my reasons for making the decisions I would perhaps like to make again – if I could?
What was good about the correct decisions I made? Did I follow a particular process in making those decisions that I should continue to use, or take into other areas of my life to make better decisions? Did I involve (or not) particular people? A good advisor/sounding board – someone who thinks differently to me and is not afraid to tell me their thoughts, but whose opinion I trust?
Take it on the chin! Accept responsibility for the unwise decisions, but also take credit where it is due.
My 3rd tip: How do I take that information from 2016 forward?
As I enter the New Year some decisions, having been “monumental stuff-ups”, will not be made again. Why? Because they are burned into my psyche and I am not about to repeat those mistakes.
For other decisions which may not have had such huge consequences or left such an impression on me, I may need to think more carefully about how I make similar decisions in the future. Is there a pattern? What can I learn?
Is there a good habit/s which I started and I should have continued during the year?
Is there a relationship I should have nurtured? Is there a relationship in which I should have not invested so much time and energy? What priority is my family (a realistic assessment here, and maybe your family should answer this)?
My 4th tip: Use 2016 as a springboard.
As a wise person said, we only have one life. Time is a finite resource and we can never live life over. We don’t know when our life will be over … we can only be sure of today.
So, please take your learnings from 2016 into the New Year of 2017!
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*The tips are cool because of our hot weather!