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.

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” =-.

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.

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) =-.

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.

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

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.

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?