We made it! In the final stretch to the year’s finish line. How did it go? Good year? Meh? Terrible? This year marks the fourteenth year of presenting a list of twelve questions to complete the year and to start anew. These prompts will help you mine for the good, learn from the tough, and take a good look ahead with clarity and vision.

Image courtesy of Pixabay/ Animal Planet Earth

The Year Past:

#1: What went well?

What went well – this is always the first reflection in my annual list of twelve questions. This question starts us off with a more open, positive lens. Life is always a mixed bag of good and not so good. But the tough stuff tends to highjack our brain’s attention and the good gets lost. Noticing the positive stuff is what builds resilience, optimism, better thinking, health, and more. So whether your year was great, terrible, or something in between, find those good bits to bring more light to the year past.

#2  What can you be grateful for from the year past?

Now flex your gratitude muscle. What lifted you up, sparked some joy, peace, and positive energy? Remember, even micro moments can have a substantive impact. Perhaps you are grateful for some beauty and nature in your surroundings? For your early morning coffee/tea rituals? Opportunities that helped you grow; for the relationships and meaningful connections you have with others?  Tuning into authentic gratitude can provide a greater sense of abundance and ‘‘enough-ness” instead of lacking.

#3 Who showed up for you this past year and made a positive difference?

Who was there for you this past year? What small or larger gestures had a positive impact? And how did you show up for yourself?  Were you resourceful and able make stuff happen?  Kind and compassionate to yourself when your inner critic was getting loud and disruptive? We often overlook ourselves as a refuge for comfort and support. So as you express gratitude to others, don’t grinch out on yourself. You deserve thanks as well.

#4 How did your personal resilience help you navigate the year?  

You are more resilient than you likely realize. It’s what gets you through the hard stuff and helps you bounce back. What did you do to help yourself stay afloat in the excessively busy and/or difficult days? What helped you recover from setbacks, disappointments,  and challenges? Consider your actions and, just as important (or more!) –your mindset. Bring all these beautiful gems to your treasure chest of strengths and know that you can count on yourself for the year ahead. 

#5 What habits served you well? What got in the way?

We all have habits. Some are intentional and others less so. Reflect on those habits (big or small) that supported you this past year.  Maybe you developed habits that helped you be more organized and helped manage the chaos of increasingly heavy loads?  Or you learned when and how to say ‘no’ to avoid burnout? Perhaps you made sleep and regular breaks a priority which helped keep you well even amidst the frenetic pace of work and life? What else?

Now think about the habits that did not serve you well. Too much time glued to your devices? Or killing time with excess scrolling? Skipping lunch to get more stuff done? Procrastinating and adding more pressure to your already stressful load?

Ready to ditch a bad habit for a good one? Remember, Good habits do not need to be herculean in size or ambition. They need commitment and consistency.

#6 Give the year past a name or theme to honour it. 2025 was the year of_________. 

The Year Ahead:

 

#7 Picture yourself a year from now. What’s that ‘thing’ you could do or change that your ‘future you’ would be so pleased that you did it’? 

In addition to tangible outcomes that might be related to some of your goals  (e.g. get promoted, learn a new skill, move forward with a relationship), you might also reflect on areas that call for your internal personal growth. For instance, step into more courage to speak up for yourself and/or be more vocal in meetings; Invest in yourself to become a better leader, or join a gym or hire a trainer to become a healthier you. The next question takes this further.

#8 What would you need to learn and/or do differently to help catalyze that desired change?

Change and transformation sometimes call for courage and a willingness to step into unfamiliar territory. You may need to learn new skills and develop different parts of yourself — for instance, to start speaking up more in meetings, or apply for that new role. One doesn’t need to be brazen or fake their way through. Often humility is what’s needed. Perhaps asking for help in a mentor, a coach, a boss, or friend? What do you think you need to do and learn to create the shifts you desire and who might you tap into for support?

#9 How might you grow in the year ahead with a slower and softer approach?

It’s great to be ambitious but too much constant striving can can wear one down. In the frenetic chaotic pace of work and life, more people are embracing slow as an alternate path to their growth. Even with heavy demands on you, where can you give yourself  permission to rest, replenish, and recover? Where can you rein in your automatic habit of doing more and instead slow down enough to discern if more is needed or might less be better in this moment?

Outside of work do you always try to push faster, harder, further? Instead of always climbing the biggest mountain, where might you enjoy a slower and different kind of adventure?

#10 Where can you find meaning and connection even in the seemingly mundane?

Sometimes work and life can feel a bit meh and tiresome. But even these mundane moments can offer up micro moments of beauty, awe, goodness. You must stay awake to notice those moments, like I did recently on a cold fall day, just doing some grocery shopping.

#11 How will you measure your success?

Next year this time, how will you look back and assess how your year went? Will you rely mostly on hard metrics of outcomes and what others decide about your success?

Reflect on how you might take a more expansive view of success and discern what is meaningful, good, and satisfying to you?  Beyond the performance ratings and measurable achievements, what else needs to be acknowledged? How might you also assign due value on the relationships you built; the contributions you made to a positive workplace culture; the confidence and leadership presence you developed? And other significant accomplishments that have high value but are sometimes harder to quantify?

  #12 Give your year ahead a personal theme or mantra. 2026 will be the year of ________.

I hope you can use this year’s reflection to help you cast a wider lens for what it means to have a meaningful year filled with purposeful growth, authentic fulfillment, and lots to call the next year a personal success.

—

Eileen Chadnick, PCC, of Big Cheese Coaching, is an ICF credentialed, two-time ICF (International Coaching Federation) Prism award winner, who works with leaders (emerging to experienced), and organizations, on navigating, leading and flourishing in times of flux, opportunity and challenge. She is the author of Ease: Manage Overwhelm in Times of Crazy Busy.