As we transition into a New Year we are always encouraged to make New Years’ resolutions.

I have never been one for New Years’ resolutions although I do quite a bit of reflection at the end of each calendar year, and also at the start of my personal new year – my birthday – which happens to fall at the middle of the calendar year, and provides me a sense of my path, and to know if there’s one actually in front of me. The end of a year is always the beginning of a new one, just as the end of a job or a relationship marks the beginning of a new something (Perspective? Learning?) or someone (to ourselves?) in one way or another. We go through a process of letting go (or not) and then potentially seeing ahead to what’s new.

Introspection isn’t everybody’s thing; it has been mine my whole life.

Each 6 months I ask myself similar questions so that I know how I’m doing for, and with, myself. Introspection isn’t everybody’s thing; it has been mine my whole life. Personally and professionally I love helping others to find out what’s inside, what may be hiding from them, finding what can be illuminated, and once seen, how to use that new knowing to create or do or be something or someone new.

Growth is often not comfortable but is always worth it.

Here are a few questions I ponder that you may find useful to ponder as you begin your 2018, and at other times as well. If this isn’t something natural for you to do, I still encourage you to try and see what appears.

5 Questions to Ask Yourself at the start of the New Year (or your birthday or some other important date):

• What were you looking forward to having happen during this past year? Did you see this happen? If not, what happened instead? If you did see what you’d hoped for, how did this come to be?
• Being somewhat realistic in your expectations (I see so many people set such truly high expectations for themselves ~ they feel crushed by their inability to achieve these heights and then use their disappointment to further discourage themselves) what would I like to experience this year?
• How will you feel, how will your life be different, when you achieve these experiences? This is an important step because it helps to understand what’s valuable to you and why; dig deeper to really understand what’s really important for you and let that guide you.
• Having determined the above, what do you need to do to help yourself achieve these intentions? Whose help do you need? What classes will teach you what you want to learn? What kind of money is required? Essentially this is about asking yourself the practical questions you need to answer so you are adequately supported. We all need support.
• Now summarize these goals or intentions into a short list that you can keep near your desk or wherever you might bump into it by accident now and again (if you see this list everyday you’ll likely stop actually seeing it). If, like me, you have written all of this down in greater detail keep it somewhere safe so you can read it again later in the year and for years to come to see how you’ve grown and what still needs attention.

Of course the purpose of having your short list nearby is to help you remember to take those important actions by utilizing the support you wrote about in question 4.

Here’s to our collective new 2018 and all of the ways we’ll be moving forward. May your new year go smoothly and well even with the temporary bumps that inevitably appear.