Looking back: time for reflection on 2024

Self-reflection is an important process of getting to know yourself better.

It is the process of looking at your thoughts and actions to better understand yourself and to improve self-awareness. This allows us to become more understanding of ourselves and to make better informed decisions in life. The time between Christmas and New Year and the beginning of a fresh year is a perfect time to hit “pause” and to begin reflecting on the previous year’s successes and failures. By the way, failures are not a bad thing, they are an area in which you can grow from. Reflecting on these experiences allows you to successfully move forward with intention.

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” – Aristotle

I used to hate self-reflection. It meant I had to dig deep into areas that I didn’t want to think about, some areas that I purposefully kept hidden. This year though, I have done so much reflection thanks to my top up BSc top up degree at the Institute of Optimal Nutrition. Part of the course requires continual reflection in order for us to grow and become the best version of ourselves. As I handed in my last piece of work for my degree, a rather large reflection assignment, I realised just how far I had come from the person who started the course at the beginning of the year. Self-reflection and therefore self-growth was to thank for it. It allowed me to see where I needed to work and grow.

Before you embark on New Year goals and resolutions that are most likely not going to stick or work, I suggest doing some self-reflection. Reflecting on the year gone by can help you effectively move forward. Habits and goals can be created once you have reflected on where needs extra attention and what has worked/hasn’t worked in the previous year.

Here are a few questions that I like to use as a way of promoting reflection:

1. Was self-care a priority?

2. What relationships have been key?

3. Have I gained any new hobbies?

4. How do I manage stress?

5. Where do I need to invest more into next year?

6. What should I focus on doing less of?

Also think about:

1. What am I most proud of?

2. My biggest lesson was…

Now you are ready for a more detailed reflection. Apply the above questions as you work through this :

1. Find a quiet time and space where you won’t be distracted.

2. Grab your dairy. Go through last year month by month and create a list. Look at events, people you met, achievements, challenges and setbacks. Look at these in terms of personal, professional, hobbies and interests.

3. Review what went well for you, celebrate achievements, and create a list of things you are proud of. This helps to boost your self-esteem and confidence going into the new year. In what areas of your life did you experience the most growth or personal development?

4. Acknowledge and reflect on any difficulties during the year. What were your challenges? When you identify challenges that you faced you can reflect on how you handled the situation. What did you learn? How did you handle difficult situations or setbacks? How would you do things differently given the chance to do them again? This creates a path to move forward and create a growth mindset that builds resilience should something similar occur again.

5. What were your goals? Which did you achieve? Which ones didn’t you achieve? Are these still something that you would like to do for 2025? What went well and what didn’t? Reflecting on and analysing these will help you with setting any new goals for the New Year.

“The greatest journey is the one of self-discovery.” – Lao Tzu

Now that you have successfully taken some time for reflection, you can think about what goals or aspirations you have for the upcoming year based on the reflections from the previous year.

Happy New Year.

Much love,

Katie xx