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Like many people, I like to usher the new year in by going through my calendar, making notes of the highlights and lowlights of the year, write up the highlights in my Christmas card and do a general self reflection as we turn the corner into January.

With the beginning of a new decade, it seems that deeper reflection is called for. As we look at our personal timelines, some of us are looking at the second half of the timeline, the downhill side! For me, that makes reflection as well as staying on track important!

I would like to share some questions I used from a Google search which I tweaked and made my own. I hope you might find them worthy to consider! Happy New Year!

LOOKING BACK

What was one of my best decisions? How did it impact my life?

How am I thoroughly different today compared to who I was in 2010? How am I the exact same as who I was in 2010?

Which people have been the core anchors of my life over the past decade? Who have I relied on in my moments of need?

What has been my deepest suffering and what have I done to embrace it or heal it? How have I chosen to deny it or run away from it?

What have been my sources of deep wisdom, faith and intelligence?

Where have I already achieved intense excellence? Why did that happen?

What were my peak experiences of the past ten years that lead to joy and peace?

Have I found a tribe that I feel deeply aligned with? If no, what concrete things am I really seeking, and why haven’t I found them yet?

What are the most important memories of the past decade and how will I carry them with me?

LOOKING FORWARD

What do I want to achieve in the next ten years?

Am I willing to embark on a bold adventure if life invites me on a journey?

What will I do for the first time in my life?

What will keep me grounded, mentally and physically in the years ahead?

What am I going to do to heal my traumas? How far am I willing to go to really deal with problems?

How am I going to do a better job of exploring and being my true self? (Spiritually, authentic personality, deepest talents, passions, artistic expression, inner voice.)

How do I see my relationship with God as a factor in how I will live my life the next ten years?

How am I going to fully activate in the years ahead? How am I committing to live the most dynamic, intentional, profound, authentic and aligned years of my life?

THOUGHTS ON THE EXAMINATION OF OUR LIFE

Bill Gates said, “We overestimate what we can accomplish in a year and underestimate what we can accomplish in ten years.”

“The unexamined life is not worth living.” Plato

The unexamined life is not worth living, but the unlived life is not worth examining.” Andrew Klavan, The Great Good Thing: A Secular Jew Comes to Faith in Christ