Welcome to 2015!
It is traditional to create resolutions for the New Year and as all of us know most of the time the good intentions fail and the resolutions are relegated to the trash.
Yearly Self Analysis:
Instead of making a few resolutions I have been doing a detailed self evaluation each year since I’ve been in my early 20’s. I have skipped the full analysis a few years because I tend to be a bit brutal on myself and if the year was particularly bad I don’t want to dwell on too many negatives from the past. However, I will always go through and write goals for the future in each section.
Overall I find it is helpful to go through different areas of my life and list my accomplishments, failures and what I plan to do for the new year. Each year the categories change a bit, but they do stay fairly consistent. Some of these do not apply to the year just passed, but more towards the future or vise-versa
Categories:
Here is an example of my categories in no particular order:
Family: Typically I break this into two sections: family members in household, then family beyond that.
Friends: New friends, old friends, who I’ve gotten close to, who’s drifted away
Relationship(s): Pretty straightforward now since I’m married, but when I was dating this could get quite complicated
Education / Learning: School, new skills, classes
Career: Where I am now, where I see myself in the future, how to get there
Fitness: This includes eating habits, exercise, organized races etc
Music / Writing: Music has been a focal point of my life so I always include it as a separate entry. I notice I am never as happy as when I am involved with music in some way.
Reconciliations: Sometimes things fall apart and here I like to think back to if I have wronged anybody and how I can try and make amends. Typically the friendship / relationship died for a reason but if it ended badly I think it’s better to clear the air.
Hobbies: This is always changing and growing. Basically a look at how satisfying my current hobbies are and if it’s time to move on.
Relaxation: This is a struggle for me at times so I have to remind myself of ways to relax
New Things: This is a catch all for things that have caught my interest in the past year. Ideas, concepts, groups etc.
Personal Growth: A deep dive into the psyche and typically a fairly brutal assessment
Finances: Where I am financially, the changing goals for the year, look over the current budget, long term, short term…money
This may seem to take quite a bit of time, but when I break it up over the course of a few days it really doesn’t take that long and going through everything can really give a realistic view of how the past year truly was and what needs to be addressed. Plus it’s eye opening to look back a few years ago and see how much has changed in my life. I also find it’s something good to look at every few months to see if I am moving forward on my goals or if I should reasses.
