These 10 questions will help you more than making a single New Year’s resolution
1 January 2022, 13:14
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As the end of 2021 arrives it’s only natural that we start thinking ahead, planning what we want to do, change and achieve over the next 12 months - but there is a different approach to looking forwards, and it involves looking back.
When it comes to making New Year's resolutions, it's not uncommon for "lose weight", "stop smoking" and "eat less junk food" to top the list.
And similarly it's not uncommon for your big plans for a new and improved you to have totally fallen by the wayside by the middle of January!
But there are other ways to start the new year with a new, positive, mindset - and according to one minimalist living blog, taking stock of the year just gone is the best way to start.
Nosidebar has shared a list of ten simple questions to ask yourself about how you found 2021, exploring what was your best moment, what you enjoyed reading or watching, and how you overcame challenges and worries.
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They say that taking this approach can totally switch your mindset as you aren't looking at a piece of paper with a list of things you've wanted to achieve or failed to change for at least a year, but a list of all the brilliant things you have accomplished, experienced, enjoyed and overcome.
Did you make an amazing new friend this year? Or discover a new hobby? Was a weekly coffee date or walk with a friend something that you want to keep doing this year too?
This mindfulness exercise is will remind you of loads of happy memories - which are especially important during the uncertain times we are currently living through - and also lets you identify and forgive any damaging behaviour of habits that might have formed during 2021.
Nosidebar writes: "When December rolled around, what I hadn’t accomplished during the year dominated my thoughts. I forgot the good changes I’d made and felt more negative about myself. Celebrating the year’s wins turned that around.
"When I acknowledged my mistakes, I learned not to repeat them. I began the new year with a truly clean slate."
Nosidebar's ten questions are below if you want to grab a pen and paper and give yourself time to go through them.
We also think that the questions are a good conversation starter for kids and teens too, so you could turn it in to a family activity.
Ten questions to reflect on at the end of 2021
- What makes this year unforgettable?
- What did you enjoy doing this year?
- What/who is the one thing/person you’re grateful for?
- What’s your biggest win this year?
- What did you read/watch/listen to that made the most impact this year?
- What did you worry about most and how did it turn out?
- What was your biggest regret and why?
- What’s one thing that changed about yourself?
- What surprised you the most this year?
- If you could go back to last January 1, what suggestions would you give your past self?
