Wrap Up the Year and Map Out Your Future

When December rolls around every year, we tend to ask “how is the year already almost over?” Then we have to finish up projects at work, do magic-making holiday activities for our kids, office parties, family dinners, and all the other merrymaking things that come in between. Before we know it, it’s January and we’re back in the office starting our Q1 without having had a moment to take reflect and plan the new year.


Reviewing the past year and planning for the new one is an important part of understanding yourself, where you are at and what you are heading towards. It allows us to reflect on the progress we have made and identify areas where we can improve. By taking the time to review our accomplishments, challenges, and successes, we can gain insight into our strengths and weaknesses, and gain a better understanding of our overall progress. This can help us set realistic goals and develop a strategy to reach them.

Take Stock of your Accomplishments

Life can become a blur if we don’t take stock of our accomplishments and see where we are at on our personal roadmaps. When life is a blur, we lose track of ourselves and our goals. Our motivation and drive is fueled by the rewards of our progress. To stock up on fuel, we need to honor our accomplishments, the challenges we overcame, and the good moments we’ve had.

Here are some questions to answer that will help you appreciate you and your journey in 2022:

·       What were my top 5 achievements?

·       What were 5 challenges that I overcame?

·      What did I learn from my career/main role in life?

·      What new or existing relationships did I develop?

·       What did I create or bring into the world?

·       How did I make a difference in the world?

·       What did I learn about myself?

·       Where did I have the most fun?

Answering these questions will give you a awareness and self-appreciation that can perk up your motivation to take on new goals.

Map Your Future

Without a mapped out course, are you really going anywhere? If we don’t have an idea of what we want to achieve or things we want to experience, we can end up at the end of the next year feeling the disappointment of not having done anything meaningful. And even though sometimes it’s nice to wander aimlessly for a little bit – it can bring new discoveries and surprises, you still have to make sure you don’t walk off a cliff or into a dead end.

Sitting down and intentionally mapping out your next year can also encourage you to take risks and try something new. Instead of getting swept up into the day by day, you can  By regularly reflecting on our progress and setting new goals, we can ensure that we are always striving for personal growth and development.

Here are some questions to answer that will help you map out your course for 2023:

·       What top 5 things do I want to achieve in 2023?

·       What 5 challenges do I anticipate in the year ahead?

·       What do I NEED to learn in the year ahead?

·       What do I WANT to grow or learn about myself in the year ahead?

·       How specifically will I make a difference in the world in 2023?

·       Where will I enjoy myself and have fun in my life next year?

·       What would I like to create or bring into the world?

·       What relationships would I like to grow and develop?

Take a moment to Celebrate

Take out 30-40 minutes to answer these questions. This is about being proud of what you have done this past year, however big or small. Once you’ve reviewed your answers, what can you do to celebrate yourself? As leaders we know it’s important to give rewards and incentives to our teams- but don’t forget to give something to yourself, too! And really, can you get genuinely excited about embarking on a new year of challenges and success without popping the champagne- so to speak- and giving yourself a pat on the back?

Commit to celebrating you, you deserve it!

Download our Wrap Up the Year worksheet here.