Celebrate and Plan: Wrapping up the Year

Click to download the pdf

I love December - the festive holiday lights, the celebrations, the time off, reflecting, planning, and my birthday. This month I am excited to host a session focused on celebrating and planning.

This post includes a lot of reflections. You can download the worksheet above or take notes however you prefer. Recording your answers increases the value of these exercises. To get us warmed up…

Spend 45 seconds thinking about something that made you feel fulfilled in the past. Once you have an image in mind, sit with it and feel the joy. What about that moment makes you feel fulfilled?

We will now move on to our values.

Take 75 seconds to write down the first words that come to mind when you think about yourself and your values. This is a quick exercise and you will have time to come back and update your list.

Now take 90 seconds to think about all your accomplishments from the past year. Again, it’s a quick exercise so just start writing all the big and small things that come to mind. The goal is to have a list of things you did that will help us start thinking about what we want to do more of.

What do you notice about your accomplishments? Are they mostly focused on one area or do they describe the whole you? Do they align with the words you use to describe yourself and your values?

Let’s look at your past year from a wellness perspective. Take 90 seconds to write down something you did for each of the following areas:

• Intellectual

• Physical

• Financial

• Occupational

• Spiritual

• Emotional

• Social

• Environmental (specifically your environment)

What areas are you most proud of? Are there areas you would like to spend more time on next year?

Now spend 75 seconds thinking about what elevated you and what got in the way. 

What themes do you see when you think about the things that elevated you and the things that got in the way? How do those themes map to the wellness words? How do they map to the words you use to describe yourself and your values?

The next step is to take 60 seconds to think about our ideal life. Imagine you wake up 5 to 10 years from now in your ideal life. What does your day look like?

Are the themes in your ideal life similar to the things that elevated you? What wellness areas resonated with you as you imagined your ideal life? How does your ideal life map to the words you use to describe yourself and your values?

Now it’s time to move on to what you want to accomplish in 2024. We will start with a Personal SWOT exercise. Take 90 seconds to fill in the following:

• My Strengths:

• Opportunities based on my strengths:

• Weaknesses:

• Threats or obstacles to the opportunities:

Did answering the personal SWOT questions help you start thinking about things you want to do in 2024? Are there opportunities based on your strengths you want to accomplish? Are there weaknesses you want to work on or obstacles you want to overcome?

Spend the next 90 seconds answering the following:

• What do you want to accomplish in 2024?

• Of the things you listed, what would have the biggest impact?

• What will you need to do more of?

• What will you need to do less of?

• What obstacles could prevent progress and how will you overcome them?

• How will you know when you’ve accomplished your goals?

To wrap up this exercise, spend 45 seconds writing down your top three priorities and a few Key Results (Action Steps) that will help you accomplish your goals.

How do your priorities relate to your values? Are your priorities in line with your ideal self?

I hope these exercises were helpful for you to think about your values, what you are proud of, and what you want to focus on in the new year. Happy Holidays!