15 questions to ask yourself in the New Year
We’re nearly a fortnight into the new year and the majority of us have eaten the last of the Christmas goodies, returned back to the office and are a few days into our new gym routine and a week turned in our diaries.
I am mid way through setting up my 2019 bullet journal (a post coming on that when I have time to photograph it) and I have massively streamlined it. One spread that has made the cut though is 15 questions I have posed to myself.
It’s something I started half way through 2018 when I swapped to my second bujo of the year and I really enjoyed it. It’s all pretty straight forward; you set yourself 15 questions at the beginning of the year and answer them - and then on December 31st you revisit them and answer them again.
I think the more personal the better and the best results come from answering them with the first thing that comes into your head; it’s the most truthful you can be. I initially answered mine in July 2018 and then again on January 1st of this year and the results were startlingly different and reflective of my life even in those 6 months and I am really intrigued to remember what it will be like in another years time.
Obviously you can come up with your own questions dependant on your life and situation, but here’s the fifteen I have been asking myself;
Describe the last year in 3 words.
The first three words and only three years.
What is your proudest achievement?
Be it little or small, what’s the one that fills your heart when you think of it?
What was the best place you visited?
It doesn’t have to be a big holiday, it could be down the road but it made you the happiest.
What or whom are you most thankful for?
A physical thing, a person, a feeling.
What surprised you most?
Eg. mine this time around was just how much I have enjoyed the routine of an office job, after 3 years of self employment.
How has your relationship with yourself changed?
It doesn’t matter if it’s better or worse, it’s a true reflection of how you see yourself and perhaps what you’ll do about it.
How have your life goals changed?
Or perhaps they haven’t - but maybe you’re closer toward them.
How have your relationships with friends and family changed?
Reflecting on our relationships is one of the most important things imo.
What do you wish you’d worried about less?
Hindsight is a beautiful thing and maybe you’ll learn from your past self and what you’ll put less focus on in the next twelve months.
What do you wish you’d put more effort into?
Again, in hindsight what are you going to put more focus on that you wish you’d done more with.
What is the funniest memory of the year?
The very first thing that springs into your head.
What new or renewed friendships do you cherish?
Eg. in July mine was an old friendship that I thought had grown closer and better and in December it was my new colleagues.
What bad habits do you wish you’d changed?
Maybe it’s biting your nails or fad diets or maybe it’s not texting back or not being organised. Now is the time to look back and make them into good habits for next year.
What theme do you want the next year to take?
Start with a word - a word you want the next year to take the form of (mine being calm fyi).
What do you promise to do in the next 365 days?
And finally, a promise to yourself, having reflected on the last year on what you’re going to do, say. believe in in 2019.
