Celebrating Accomplishments
Published Friday, December 23, 2022
By Caitlund Davidson, Health Promotion and Communications Planner
At the beginning of the year, many people set goals for themselves that they hope to accomplish before December 31st. In 2022, whether your goal was to eat healthier, exercise more or to learn a new skill, you’ve grown and changed during the past 12 months. Regardless of whether or not you achieved your goal(s), take a few minutes to reflect on your experiences from this past year.
Self-reflection is the act of looking back on past events with an open mind and recognizing where we can learn or improve from our past actions. Not only can it be empowering and have significant wellness benefits, self-reflection also fosters learning, enables personal and professional growth, inspires healthy change, boosts confidence and improves performance. As well, self-reflection can strengthen your emotional intelligence and help you cope with future challenges.
Take an opportunity to reconnect with yourself through reflection and consider what your values, strengths, challenges are. Once you know those answers, you can choose to do more of what you like to do in the future rather than be weighed down by the things you don’t enjoy.
The final thing to remember is that there is often pressure to show up as our best selves and be perfect. It can be helpful to leave the self-criticism behind as you do your reflection and set your goals. You don’t have to have life figured out by the end of the year.
Settle in for some family time or find your journal and a quiet place to reflect on all that you’ve accomplished this year.
Questions for reflection:
- What goals did you achieve?
- What goals are you still working on?
- What are you most proud of and why?
- What were your biggest challenges?
- What did you learn?
- Would you have done anything differently?
- What are you most grateful for?
- What are three words you would use to describe this year?
Hopefully, these questions have prompted you to recognize your achievements and personal successes. Remember, it’s not solely about accomplishing goals, it’s about how you are evolving as a person.
As we look forward to the year ahead, many of us are motivated by the idea of a fresh start and will consider what our new year resolution(s) or goals for 2023 will be. Whether it’s spending more time with family, getting back into a routine at the gym, or reducing your consumption of alcohol, your answers to the earlier questions can guide you when setting your 2023 goals. By taking 10 minutes to reflect and celebrate your accomplishments from 2022, you can set the stage for success in 2023.
Finally, don’t be afraid to reflect and evaluate at other times throughout the year. Sometimes the goals we set for ourselves at the beginning of the year may need to change and evolve. We can adapt them as needed.