What is art
Different definitions of art over history
2018 year end reflection questions
We don’t reflect enough. While New Year’s resolutions are a cultural norm, year end reflections seem to be much less discussed. Reflecting is difficult, but necessary to learn from the past. Ideally we’d all be reflecting more regularly; the end of 2018 provides a good excuse to start the habit and continue it on a more frequent monthly or weekly basis.
Below are the questions I used for my 2018 reflection along with some rationale:
1. What went well?
2. What am I proud of / what did I overcome?
- People tend to obsess over their mistakes. It’s helpful for mental health to also take credit for your successes
3. What could have been improved?
- That said, knowing what you could have done better is also helpful. Importantly, focus on bad processes rather than bad outcomes
4. What am I thankful for?
- Remember to be grateful for the opportunities you have. If these include friends and family, now’s a great time to reach out
5. What surprised me?
- This is more for fun, since surprises are by definition unexpected, and I’m unsure how much you can learn from this. It might be helpful if you can identify a common theme in your surprises
6. What did I learn?
7. What needs to be left behind?
- Letting go is difficult. Be aware of sunk costs and behaviours to avoid
8. How will I change?
9. Who will I connect with?
- Both new and old
10. What are my goals? Of those, what are my top goals?
- Advice that has been credited to Buffett on goal setting is worth thinking about, though that was just focused on career goals, and is possibly a fake anecdote. Your list likely expands when including other aspects of life e.g. physical, leisure etc. I do agree with the principle that you can’t focus on too many things at once.
11. What can I look forward to?
- End off with a positive note and think about what gets you excited about the year ahead
Some resources I took reference from:
Enjoyed this post?
Get my next essays in your inbox:
Related Posts
Min, Max, and 10x people
Some skills in life have dramatically larger variance than others, which is helpful to know when deciding how much more effort to put in on the margin.
Getting better at getting better
How to improve your improvement process
Comments