27 Powerful Reflection Questions for the New Year! (A Ritual for Transition)
The more I sit with a moment or event, the more I am able to draw out the lessons, wisdom or gratitude for that moment. In the hustle, rush and chaos of our everyday lives taking these moments to actually treat ourselves with some time can do wonders!
Stepping into next year with clarity, gratitude and wisdom is something that many will forget to do amongst it all. Here’s to choosing to be mindful, to care about ourselves in order to serve others! Aho to that!
So, here we go!
Here’s some simple and very effective questions and exercises you can do by yourself or with a tribe of close friends. Just set aside some time so that you are present with the practice treat it in the same way you would a meditation, yoga class or intimate conversation with a friend. Maybe set aside 1 hour to do it properly!
Make sure you be as creative and as YOU as possible for this. Draw, paint, write, sing or act out your responses. The more you put in, the more you get out! 🙂
Visualise the year that has been:
Take 10 minutes to meditate and start on the 1st of January to visualise yourself going through your year. Noticing any major events that come up and moments that stand out. As if you are playing a recording of your year back. What has your journey through this year been?
- If you were to list 4 core themes that represent this year for you, what would they be? (ie. presence, exploration, connection)
- What are the top 10 things, people or events you are grateful for this year? (maybe you’d like to write them a little note?)
- What 3 achievements for the year are you most proud of?
- Which 5 people did you most enjoy spending time with?
- What activities made you lose track of time?
- Is there a goal or intention that didn’t transpire for you this year?
- Did you learn any new skills this year?
- Did you create anything cool this year?
- Any cool or funny compliments that you received and won’t forget?
- What would you say is the most important lesson you learnt this year?
- Why are you most proud about what it is you wrote above?
- Out of all the places you went or experienced, where did you feel most creative and alive?
- What are the common traits among those 5 people you mentioned above? What type of people are you most in “flow” around?
- Those activities that you loose track of time with, have you acknowledged these before? Do you have regular time to do these?
- That goal or intention that didn’t transpire for you? Why do you feel this might have been? What can you learn from this?
- Are there any activities you found yourself doing this year that felt icky, out of alignment or clearly zapped more energy than they gave?
- Is the way you operated your year in any regard in contradiction to what you believe your values to be?
- Looking back, what can you learn about how you managed and nurtured these 10 areas of your life:
i. Health & Fitness?
ii. Intellect?
iii. Emotions?
iv. Spirituality?
v. Friendly & Family Relationships?
vi. Intimate Relationships?
vii. Wealth & Career?
viii. Experiences & Fun?
ix. Creativity?
x. Contribution?
- Right now looking forward, what would you like your overarching theme to be for 2019? (ie. exploration, remembering, commitment)
- What stands out as a key opportunity for personal growth next year?
- Who do you want to spend more time with next year?
- What new skill do you want to learn or improve?
- What personal attribute or quality would you like to sharpen or live more?
- What is one story you will stop telling yourself next year? What new story will you replace this with?
- What is the one goal that excites you the most for next year?
There you go! If you went through this mindfully and as honestly as you can (alone or in a group), hopefully you will feel sense of closure and appreciation for this year and a little excitement for the year ahead!
I’d love to know if you have a process or ritual you go through at the change of year? Do you have any other questions you like to ask yourself or connect with? Let me know in the comments or send me an email at al@aljeffery.com.
Enjoy the process,
Al