We live in interesting times.
There is always some level of turmoil in the world, and in our lives. That said, we tend to overemphasize the agitation we feel at any given moment while forgetting how similarly we may have felt in the past before we emerged, often stronger and better, from whatever it was we were going through.
The start of a new year is an opportunity to elevate our thinking and gain perspective on the landscape of our lives. Reflecting on the past and forming intentions about the future increase the perception – and probability – of control we have over our lives.
We either succumb to the chaos, or we plan and execute our way through it while maintaining the agility to adjust based on circumstances.
Consider taking a few moments to reflect on 2022, and what you want to manifest in 2023. Here are a few questions to help you along your way – feel free to answer all of these for yourself, or hone in on the ones that most speak to you.
Reflections on 2022
Events
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What were one to three particularly positive or negative developments?
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How were you at cause in what transpired?
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Knowing what you know now but with the information you had then, what would you do differently if faced with the same situation again?
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What, from those situations, can you turn into a process to repeat the positive or avoid the negative?
Decisions
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Taken
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Which major decisions did you take this past year that you feel particularly good about now? Which ones have not aged well?
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For each decision / non-decision, what was your balance of rational analysis vs intuition/gut feel? Does it differ for the good vs not so good decisions?
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Deferred
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What major decisions did you push off?
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In each case, did it end up being the right course of action to not take a decision at the time or did any of them come back to haunt you?
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Why did you push them off, and what would you now do differently?
Health and Wellness
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How well did you take care of yourself – sleep, nutrition, fitness, family & friends, community?
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What are you grateful for / brings you joy? What disappoints, angers or saddens?
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What patterns can you see in either group that might enable you to seek more of the former and avoid more of the latter?
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What personal habits or attitudes assisted in your success? What held you back?
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What guidance would you give your year-ago self?
Intentions for 2023
Planning
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If you place yourself a year down the road and you are looking back on the year ahead, what will have happened for you to be happy with the year?
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What will increase your enjoyment and sense of fulfillment?
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What will you regret not having done?
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What is keeping you up at night?
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What do you want to let go of?
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What might happen – this coming year or in the more distant future – that could throw you off your plans? How can you prepare for and mitigate those risks?
Personal
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How would your future self tell your present self to be this coming year?
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What are your personal purpose, values, vision, and mission?
Best wishes for health, happiness and prosperity for you and your families and workplaces, and peace on Earth for all of us.
My name is Alexander Rink. Drawing upon over 20 years of experience growing early-stage companies, my team and I help CEOs and Boards of Directors of companies from $1M to $25M in revenues identify and resolve strategic and organizational challenges to accelerate their company’s growth in a capital efficient manner.
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