25 Questions to Reflect on Before the New Year

This is one of my favorite times of the year. The days between the Christmas holiday and the New Year feel so cozy. Everything slows down. The pressure of the holiday craze releases. And the fresh, new year grind hasn’t totally kicked off yet. Instead, we’re left with some emptier-than-normal space – To dream. To think. To do nothing. To journal. To relax. To be with people we love. To reflect.

And goodness if this isn’t the perfect time for reflecting. While everything on the internet – every blog post, every media outlet, every Instagram note – will be touting the whole new year, new you theme. It’s actually the perfect time to not think about the NEW you, but about the OLD you instead. When reflecting on the “past you”, you create the opportunity for more intentional goals and more plans rooted in something meaningful – your lived experience.

I beg of you, please don’t get so wrapped up in the obsession with being an improved person in the new year that you lose sight of all the amazing learnings from the last one. You need those lessons. They’re small but significant bits of insight that will make planning for the year ahead that much more effective, provided you take a minute to turn around and give merit to what you’ve done, how you felt, and why.

Reflecting is easy. It’s especially easy when it’s prompted. Don’t miss an opportunity to take in all of last year before pushing into the new one. Slow down and answer these 25 Questions for Reflection (I’ve made these into a worksheet and a writeable PDF). And a little fun tip, this worksheet is great to do on your own, but it’s also a lovely thing to do with partners or friends.