There is something palpable in the air for me as we embark on a New Year, a figurative clean slate that allows one to forge ahead, leaving any bad juju where it belongs, in the past.
I realize December wrapping up and January unveiling itself is simply just a turn of one calendar day into another but nonetheless, the days leading up to the new year invite a quiet period of reflection for me.
Taking time to acknowledge those 365 days and all that has transpired, the good, the bad, and the ugly begets an awareness of what valuable lessons I have gleaned from this year’s life chapter.
Curating a list of things that happened in 2024 offers me the chance to view them collectively from a 50,000-foot perspective as a series of experiences. Though those experiences may not always feel connected, they are inevitably intertwined and woven into the fabric of who I will continue to become.
I make an annual list of those experiences which always offers me an opportunity to think about each one. It also allows me the ability to “let go” if any headspace is consumed by particular items that are no longer serving me and have been weighing me down.
Some of the categories I use as prompts for jotting down my annual list include:
- Big Events
- Key Takeaways
- New Experiences
- Favorite Moments
- Unexpected “things”
- Personal Endeavors
- Things I Tried for the First Time
- Professional Accomplishments
- Frustrations or Disappointments
Positive items are always quick to recall for me; there is even a science behind that phenomenon, while the more challenging scenes of the past year that require additional processing or ones where I haven’t had closure shy away from stepping into my mind’s spotlight. What doesn’t readily pop up and feels heady to tug from the recesses of my memory I pay attention to the most, it is in there where golden nuggets of wisdom truly live.
This isn’t meant to be a rapid-fire exercise but one over the course of a few days where I purposefully reminisce for 20-30 minutes each sit down. Then to sum up my year’s reflection, I choose 8-10 descriptive words that seem representative of the year for me. For 2024, here are mine:
- Resourceful
- Discerning
- Evolving
- Decisive
- Purposeful
- Deliberate
- Productive
- Vulnerable
- Resilient
- Grounded
Taking stock of the past 12 months and capturing a snapshot of words that sums it up is my version of a wonderful reset button and a metaphorical turning of the page as a new year commences and I head into another journey around the sun.
Happy New Year, and thank you to my readers, my clients, my family, and friends, as well as to those who had a part in shaping me in 2024.