As the year comes to a close

I love that people take a look back at themselves and the world around them as the year comes to a close. From Spotify playlists to the year’s best books to personal stats on your favorite app, the energy seems right and ready for reflection. It also seems incredibly fitting to try to wrap up our year’s narrative before we begin the next story.

So it is in this spirit that I give my end-of-year gift to you - a week’s worth of self-reflections. Some are geared toward telling your story, some confront the heady-ness of existential topics, many fall somewhere in between. I encourage you to do as many as you like.

December 25 - No matter how you spent this week’s Monday - enjoying some quiet time? assertively opening presents? sharing a meal with friends or family? keeping to yourself? - were you able to welcome joy into your day today? How?

December 26 - Think about an old friend you've lost touch with. What do you miss about them? What do you not miss? Are you aware of the reason(s) you lost touch?

December 27 - Why is it important to be genuine?

December 28 - What was the best thing you saw or read this year? What was the worst? How will this inform your year going forward?

December 29 - Where would you travel if you could go anywhere? Plan as many details of the trip as you can think of, if you like. If you could go there in 2024, would the trip look different than if you planned it farther in the future?

December 30 - "If someone gains, someone else loses." How much does this reflect life (in general or, more specifically, for you), and how much does it fall short? Reflecting upon this, how could your attitudes have been different during events in the past year? Farther back?

December 31 - Before I go to bed tonight, I will….

And your bonus reflection, so start off the new year:

January 1 - What is one thing that happened today that you really want to remember 10 years from now?