Yesterday I mentioned doing a Year In Review, a deeper dive than what comes from boredom and triwiches. With just a few days left in this year, let’s do that today – a 2021 Reflection!
Be Centered
First, today’s images were all made by Mason. He has been joining me for many of my Project 31 days. With the addition of our Christmas Lensbaby toys, we have both been exploring and creating together. Believe it or not, all three images were created by shooting down the center of a light saber. The one at the top of this post represents the reflecting we will all do today, but the other two represent being centered.
Nine Powerful Reflection Questions for 2021
These questions come courtesy of Jay Shetty and one of his most recent podcast episodes. I like these questions because they aren’t focused on only the positive or negative, but instead hone in a feeling of being centered. What is the core of your experience for the year?
I’ll share the questions here so you can copy and paste for yourself to do your own work, and then share them again along with my answers afterwards. Set aside about 60 minutes to think through everything, including listening to the podcast episode for deeper insight into how to approach the questions. It is only 25 minutes long.
The Questions:
- What made you feel most happy this year?
- What made you unhappy this year?
- What was the biggest lesson you learned this past year?
- What do you wish you would have done more of this year?
- What’s something you want to do less of next year?
- What was your biggest success this year?
- When was a moment you failed this year?
- What is something you want to learn next year?
- What is your favorite way to refuel?
My 2021 Reflection
I thought about these as I listened to the podcast episode and then throughout that same day. Then I came back to them again a few days later to make them concrete as you see them here. Here are my answers:
1. What made you feel most happy this year?
My happiest moment was the settled feeling I got from clearing up my family drama of 25 years. That was a heavy weight to carry for so long, so as difficult as it was to do the work, the result was worth it! My heart is at peace.
2. What made you unhappy this year?
This one is easy – dashed hopes and expectations from my January surgery. Nearly a year later, not only am I not yet healed, I’m worse off physically. But, Good! Despite the negative parts, I’m a much better person for it all. There’s so much to learn from it and ways in which to grow. It wasn’t the intended path, but the only thing to do with it is to figure out how to move forward and have gratitude for all the ways I am better for it. The obstacle is the way.
3. What was the biggest lesson you learned this past year?
The biggest lesson I learned is an ever deeper layer of patience with controlling the controllables and accepting the uncontrollables. This mainly comes from the surgery and its results, but it is being applied to all areas of my life.
4. What do you wish you would have done more of this year?
I wish I would have made more art. I wish I would have been more efficient with my time. I wish I could have felt like being sillier and more spontaneous – this is hard to do when you don’t feel great. I wish I would have spent more one-on-one time with David. I wish I would have created more time to spend with friends.
5. What’s something you want to do less of next year?
Next year I want to spend less time on devices. I want to streamline my efficiency with time. I want to spend less time on things that do not matter and/or no longer serve their original purposes.
6. What was your biggest success this year?
My biggest personal success is my answer to question #1. But other successes include helping my kids follow their dreams, allowing them to try different forms of education, and launching myself into a new sport.
7. When was a moment you failed this year?
I don’t believe in failures and instead see them as learning moments. With this in mind, I didn’t give enough hands-on attention to homeschooling my kids. We never landed on a system and rhythm that worked consistently for all of us. They sure had fun, but their formal educations are lagging a bit. We are all going into 2022 with a new plan.
8. What is something you want to learn next year?
I want to learn to communicate better. I’m decent at written communication and visual expression through art, but my oral communication skills are not at the same level. This also includes my presentation skills.
9. What is your favorite way to refuel?
I’m not going to pick only one. I love to refuel through movement – indoors and out. Making art. Getting out to do new and interesting activities with my family. Snuggling in my bed to write. These are all things I get in my days in one form or another.
Your 2021 Reflection
Your turn! Copy and paste the questions and spend some time with them. What other questions might you add for yourself? How can you apply your answers to your 2022 plan? What did you learn about yourself? Do you feel centered?
May we all begin 2022 ready to grow and be our best selves.
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