It’s a busy time of the year right now as we rush around to buy Christmas presents, plan what we’ll be doing on Christmas day – Whose place will lunch be at this year? Who’s bringing what? What will we do on our days off work?
“Just let me get through these next few weeks” is a line I hear many people say. There’s not a lot of time, it seems, to simply stop and reflect.
But why look back? I mean, what’s done is done. What value is there in reflecting on the year that’s just gone by?
Because the past can provide you with a rich source of information that you can use to design your future.
Think about it. What kind of year have you had? What did you love about it? What didn’t you love about it? What do you want to be different next year?
Looking back gives us an opportunity to evaluate how we’ve lived our life over the past 12 months and to decide what kind of year we want the next one to be.
Looking back gives us the clues to the areas in our lives where we want something different.
Think about the areas of discontent that you’ve experienced. Think about the longings you’ve carried. Do you want the same longings and discontents again next year?
Think about what’s already great in your life that you want more of and the things that aren’t so great that you want less, or no more, of.
But watch out! Don’t fall into the trap of dwelling in the past.
The key is to reflect by looking back, and then look forward to designing your future.
