|
|
With the year wrapping up, it’s only natural to look back on what you’ve done and accomplished over the last 12 months. One way you can do this is by creating a “year in review” document highlighting all the big moments from your year in one place.
Taking the time for reflection with a personal annual review can remind you of what goals you’ve achieved, where you fell short, and what you’d like to tackle in the upcoming year. Keep reading for guidance on how to create an accurate, objective, and helpful yearly review.
4 Stages in Creating a Year-in-Review Summary
Looking back at your year might sound straightforward, but there are several aspects you need to consider. Ideally, you should reflect on your year from several viewpoints, including personal goals, mental health status, and life setbacks. This will give you a comprehensive view of the 12 months and help you plan better for the next year ahead.
Here are the four steps you can take to tackle creating your year in review.
1. Reflect on Personal Achievements
It’s always good to start your reflection on a positive note. Look back at the year and write down all the major (and minor) personal achievements you accomplished. Some examples of wins are getting more exercise, planning and taking a dream vacation, doing well at work, building a habit of making your bed in the mornings, and any other positive changes and wins you had.
Of course, 12 months is a long time, and it can be easy to forget some of your achievements from earlier in the year. Consider going through your calendar and camera roll, month by month, to be reminded of what happened over the year. This should help trigger your memories so you don’t miss any achievements.
The power of writing down your wins is seeing all you’ve done in a year summarized in one place. It’s often easy to be hard on ourselves and think we had a lacking year because we simply can’t remember all we did. This section of your year in review will be a great reminder that you did accomplish a lot and have things to be proud of!
2. Review Areas for Growth
Now that you’ve gotten a good feeling from reviewing all your achievements, it’s time to move on to some critical reflection. No one has a perfect year. In the past year, you likely had some goals you didn’t accomplish or some moments you’re not happy with. That’s okay. Nobody’s perfect.
Still, it’s as important to acknowledge the setbacks as to celebrate the wins.
Once again, look back at your year and identify the places you wish had different outcomes. Reflect on what went wrong within each area and what changes you can make for a better result next time. For example, if you didn’t achieve a particular goal, can you realistically reset it and accomplish it next year? Or let’s say you had some financial blunders over the last 12 months. What did you learn, and what will you do to ensure you don’t repeat those mistakes?
Lastly, consider areas where perhaps “mistakes” weren’t made but you wish things were different. You may look back at your year and realize you self-isolated and didn’t make time for friends and family. In this case, there’s potential for growth for you to start prioritizing time with loved ones.
Remember, this portion of your year in review is for you to acknowledge what aspects of the last 12 months you wouldn’t want to repeat next year.
Lastly, as you go through this step, make sure you have some self-compassion during your self-reflection. Avoid using harsh, critical or negative language. Write factual, neutral statements. Rather than saying, “I failed to lose 10 pounds,” you could write, “I lost 5 pounds but didn’t meet my overall weight loss goal of 10 pounds.
3. Evaluate Mental Health Milestones and Setbacks
Many people go through a yearly review exercise from a goal-oriented lens. As a result, they focus solely on goals. But there’s a massive benefit to having a mental health section in your annual review.
First, your mental health directly connects to your achievements throughout the year. If you struggled with your mental health, it’s only natural that you would’ve accomplished fewer goals. So, reviewing and noting your mental health is a good reminder of what kind of position you were in to accomplish goals.
Second, mental health should always be a priority every year. You might not think of writing down mental health as a goal, but it absolutely should be. When a new year starts, people tend to focus on improving their physical health, but mental health is equally important.
Take an honest moment to reflect on your mental health throughout the year. Did you have setbacks you still need to address? Or did you prioritize your mental health and take proactive measures, like talking to a counselor? Ask yourself: If your mental health was the exact same next year, would you be happy? Or are there changes you should make to have a better year?
4. Looking to the Year Ahead
After listing everything you accomplished and what you missed from the previous year, you should be in an excellent place to set goals for the new year. Take note of what you learned from this year and how those lessons can be applied to your goals next year.
When it comes to goal-setting, keep a balanced perspective. Be realistic about what you can and can’t accomplish. Make every goal SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound). One analysis of over 1,000 studies concluded that setting high and specific goals resulted in better outcomes than setting vague or easy goals.
And don’t forget to set goals for all areas of your life, including mental health, physical health, relationships, work, and more.
Reflecting on the Past for a Better Future
Your year in review should be a positive exercise. As you reflect, you’ll see all you did and areas where you still have room to grow. This knowledge will help you build out a plan for the new year, allowing you to continue to grow and achieve personal goals.
Remember to make mental health a priority year-round. After all, you can’t be in the mindset to accomplish goals if you’re struggling with unaddressed mental health problems.
Mental Health Support at FHE Health
If you’re struggling with your mental health, don’t bring these unresolved issues into a fresh year. FHE Health is revolutionizing behavioral health care with personalized, effective treatment programs. Professional help can be the answer to taking back your mental health. Contact us today to learn more.
