I would like to take the time to congratulate all of you for all your successes and failures in 2009. I hope it’s been a wonderful year
full of new experiences, of life changing days and happy and memorable moments with your loved ones. Only one day left before the end of the year and I’m here in the Rockies in British Columbia at the beautiful Kicking Horse resort and I’m about to do my 2009 personal review. I have been doing this for 5 years now and it’s been teaching me more than I could ever imagine. I highly recommend that you do the same this year.
By doing this exercise you will learn a lot about yourself; your patterns in relationship, your successes, your failures, your beliefs system, your attitude toward life, your emotional behavior and so on. I think it’s vital to take time for yourself and write you 2009 “life review” to make sure you’re on the right path and to realign yourself for 2010. Don’t make the same mistake twice! Learn from the past, live in the present and plan your future.
For those of you who never did a yearly review, here’s an example of how you could structure it.
Divide the review in 3 categories: personal, professional and relationships
For each category write down
• Your success story, what you’re proud of, what have you’ve achieved, etc…
• Your failures and why do you think it didn’t work, etc…
• What you would like to have done that you didn’t accomplish.
• What books have you read on the subject
• Who inspired you?
3- Make a statement that summarizes well your year
For example: In summary, this year was a constant learning and adaptation at work and I didn’t spend enough time taking care of my family but my kids thought me that I need to take time for myself and for them if I want a nice family environment. I have a wonderful life partner who cares about me and pays attention of how I’m feeling and helps me get through difficult times. I made new valuable friends who inspired me to act on my ideas and to never give up.
Finally, reviewing the last year is going to make you feel better and teach you what no one else can teach you. You can also do the same type of exercise by keeping a personal journal everyday. Good writing to all of you!