Looking Ahead by Looking Back
As the end of another year slowly approaches, there is once again that discernible feeling of eager anticipation for what the upcoming year will bring. In many ways, this is quite natural and expected since, like a present wrapped in shiny paper, the new year entices us with the promise of better times and exciting possibilities. With everyone around us spreading good wishes for a prosperous new year, it’s hard not to feel buoyant that this change in the annual calendar won’t also help mark the transition to a new and bright chapter in our lives.
But while it’s natural to look forward to the possibilities a new year can bring, it’s also important that we not lose sight of the lessons learned over the course of the previous one. Whether it’s failures or accomplishments, both experiences are valuable tools that we shouldn’t overlook as we move forward into a new year.
So, how can we make each successive year better than the one before? As is the case in most aspects of life, it comes down to what questions we choose to ask ourselves. In this case, instead of simply asking “what do I hope to achieve next year?”, let’s also ask ourselves these questions:
- What goals did I succeed in reaching this past year?
- What goals did I fail to achieve and why? What obstacles presented themselves and can I overcome them knowing now which ones stand in my path?
- How many failures did I experience and did I really learn anything from them? Or am I still susceptible to repeating them?
- Who turned out to be valuable sources of support, motivation, and calls to action? Can they continue to help me as I move forward? And how can I help them succeed with their goals?
- What events/moments during the past year opened my eyes to new ideas, insights or opportunities for professional and/or personal growth? What can I do to learn more and explore these untapped outlets for growth?
- What unexpected opportunities came up and what did I learn from them?
Naturally, there are other questions we can ask ourselves, questions that can help us in further assessing what we’ve done and where we can go next. But by asking ourselves these questions listed above, we can start that process of ensuring our focus is directed toward building on what we accomplished and what we’ve learned from our experiences this year, both key factors to creating a realistic guide for where we want – and can – grow in the coming year.
With such a guide at our disposal, we stand to benefit from not only having a clear sense of direction, but also a keen appreciation for where we’ve been.
Some other posts you may enjoy:
- 10 Questions to Help Leaders Prepare for the New Year
- 4 New Year’s Resolutions To Help Your Organization Succeed This Year
- Getting Back To The Art of Storytelling
- How Leaders Can Take Advantage of the Summer Downtime
- Learning to Appreciate the Gifts That Come With Leadership
- The Challenge We Face In Moving On
Thoughtful comments that resonate, especially at the end of 2009! For some reason starting a new century does not seem so distant, as we enter a new decade of the new century.
Especially in 2009, hopefully we all learned to do a bit more with a bit less, a lot less in some case. At a time of increased transparency, hopefully we learned to have a solid base as individuals.
In 2009 did we shed a few layers of materialism?
Hi Tino,
Thanks for your comment. The last year has certainly been a tough one on the economic front. But there's been some valuable lessons that have come out from it that hopefully enough have both learned and are ready to implement as their new approach in the years ahead.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this, Tino.
Hi Tanveer, this is a very thoughtful post and an important one too because I think the temptation can be to wipe the slate clean as we move from one year to the next, leaving behind some pretty valuable information that we can actually build on.
The questions you ask are good ones because they allow for some pretty comprehensive reflection. Questions that comes to mind for me go something like: " What happened this past year that surprised me?" "What did I learn about myself because of it?" "What did I learn about others?"
For me, it is often the unplanned events that contain the most telling lessons.
Thanks for a good read and a good reminder to take some inventory!
Gwyn
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Marion Chapsal and Tanveer Naseer. Tanveer Naseer said: RT @MarionChapsal: Reading – Looking Ahead by Looking Back http://bit.ly/6qI7ya by gentle philosopher @TanveerNaseer < Aw, thanks Marion.
[...]
Hi Gywn,
Thanks for the great comment. I think you're absolutely right that the unexpected events or moments we encounter provide us with the best insights, as they cause us to look at our expectations and impressions of ourselves and see if they really hold true. Also, it can open our eyes to untapped abilities or potentials we have, but never realized could be so valuable or beneficial in our interactions with others.
It's a natural response that when we get something brand new, we tend to look at the old one as being something we no longer need or can benefit from. When it comes to our professional/personal experiences over the course of the year, we need to realize that this isn't something to toss aside to make room for new ones; instead, it should be something we use as the foundation for what we'll build in the new year.
Thanks again for the wonderful comment, Gwyn.
Tanveer,
My fav is are these questions:
"Who turned out to be valuable sources of support, motivation, and calls to action? How can I help them succeed with their goals?"
Too often, I find myself overly focusing on improving myself, which can get a bit myopic. I'm much happier focusing on supporting others – and being very specific in my actions.
Thanks!
John
.-= John Haydon´s last blog ..What is the “31 Day Challenge To Optimize Your Blog For Social Media”? (video) =-.
Hi John
Good to see you here. It was really important for me when I sat down coming up with this list of questions to include one where the exercise is not simply about looking at ourselves, but looking out at those around us and seeing how we can give back and help others as they make their way on their path.
By helping others, we can expose ourselves to learning new ideas as well as gaining insight into our own abilities, another way to move toward doing what you're really meant to do and not what you simply found yourself being good at doing.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this, John. I'm planning on writing more posts like this in the next year. Hope to hear your thoughts on those ones as well.
Tanveer,
This is a wonderful post! I am in total agreement, and do this strategy of looking back to look ahead every year – in fact, I truly look forward to it!
In order to know where you are going, and where you want to go, you need to know where you have been. Closing out the year this way not only helps you achieve more in the New Year, but also puts the old year to rest in a respectful and definite way. By taking the time to really review it, you are allowing yourself to put it and its issues into the past and move forward with both eyes ahead.
Here’s to a wonderful new year for you, and thanks for this post!
Nacie
.-= Nacie Carson´s last blog ..How to Fight The “Mondays” =-.
Thanks Nacie, I’m glad you enjoyed this piece.
I think for many people, reaching the end of the year is like coming to the end of a marathon – the focus is not on the terrain that was covered, but instead on simply crossing that finishing line. Of course, once we cross that line, we’re simply going to start yet another leg in the race of life.
So, being able to look back on how we managed the uphill segments of the course, the sections that were full of obstacles and potholes, as well as those straight, smooth gliding parts, we can get a better appreciation of how to navigate the course our life will take us in the year ahead.
Thanks again, Nacie, for taking the time to share your thoughts and again, I’m glad you enjoyed it.