Year-End Reflection: What’s Your Life Score?

Self-reflection at the end of a year will help you improve your life in the coming year. Take some time to review what happened so you can set your direction in the months ahead. Your personal development largely depends on you, so lay the groundwork to succeed with some thoughtful year-end reflection.

Why Review Your Year?

Well, here you are at the end of another year. How did it go for you?

Before you start planning the next year, take stock of the year you just had. Look for ways that you have improved and areas where you have fallen short. Learn from your successes as well as your mistakes.

Taking time for self-examination helps you measure your satisfaction in life. You can better understand yourself and your circumstances. Your objective evaluation lets you see the gains you enjoyed while also pinpointing what needs to change and improve.

Once you know what went well and what did not, you can better position yourself for growth in the new year. Personal year-end reflection can help increase your productivity by getting the right things done. You gain clarity so you can make sure your daily activities line up with your priorities. Your confidence grows because you have learned from your past and have a plan for your next steps.

Calculate Your Overall Life Satisfaction Score

How satisfied are you across various aspects of your past year? To get your personal score, rate your satisfaction level in the following areas of your life. On this scale, 1 means completely unsatisfied and 7 means completely satisfied.

Now add up your totals to calculate your Overall Life Satisfaction Score: ______

So, how are you doing? How does your score make you feel? What surprised you about your score?

You might ask your spouse or another close friend to rate you. How do your scores compare? Sometimes others can give you an objective look and get you the answers you need to help improve your fulfillment in life.

Go Deep in a Few Areas

Take some time to analyze the areas of your life where you are mostly or completely unsatisfied. (These are the items you rated with a 1 or 2.) The following questions might help prompt and focus your evaluation.

You might think through these by yourself first, but also include your spouse or other close friends to help you find the heart of your dissatisfaction.

Emotional Health

1. What were some of your recurring feelings?
2. What made you happiest?
3. How did you respond to positive situations? Negative situations?
4. How aware are you of your emotions?
5. What emotions appeared in your typical countenance?
6. How flexible or rigid were you?
7. What were you thankful for?

Faith

1. How did your behavior reflect your guiding principles and values?
2. What did you do to promote meditation and reflection?
3. What did you pray about? What answers have you seen?
4. What did you do to serve others and meet their needs?
5. How did you share your faith with others?
6. How would you describe your sense of purpose?

Leisure

1. What did you do for recreation?
2. What adventures did you experience?
3. What did you do in arts, music, and sports?
4. What material did you read for fun?
5. What were some of your most humorous experiences?
6. Where did you travel?
7. What hobbies did you start or maintain?

Mental Health

1. How would you describe your general attitude or mood?
2. What were you hopeful about at the start of the year? How did it turn out?
3. How clear have your thoughts been?
4. When have you found your best ability to concentrate?
5. Have you noticed any changes in your memory?
6. When did you feel depressed?
7. What was most stressful for you? How did you manage it?

Money

1. What was your annual income?
2. What assets do you have?
3. What liabilities do you have?
4. What is your net worth?
5. How did you strategically spend, save, and give?
6. What is the status of your emergency fund? Retirement fund?

Personal Development

1. What books, movies, songs, live performances, classes, or other content influenced you the most? How did it impact you?
2. How did you challenge yourself?
3. What new things did you learn?
4. What has changed about you? How did you change the most?
5. What skills and competencies have you learned or improved?
6. What habits did you start? Stop?
7. What goals did you fulfill? Not fulfill?
8. What are you most proud of?

Physical Health

1. What did you do to maintain and improve your fitness?
2. How did you sleep? What helped or hindered your rest?
3. How did your actual weight compare to your target weight?
4. How did you manage your intake of alcohol and tobacco? Other substances?
5. What did you eat? Did you have a balanced diet at regular meals?
6. How was your energy level? What influenced your endurance?
7. Did you have any recurring pain or frequent illnesses?

Relationships

1. What people did you most enjoy spending time with?
2. What were your favorite moments spent with friends?
3. How did others help you? How did you help others?
4. What meaningful conversations did you have? What did you talk about?
5. Whom should you send a thank-you card to that you haven’t already thanked?
6. What was the top compliment that you received?
7. What unresolved conflict do you need to handle?
8. Whom did you meet or get to know better?
9. Who has meant the most to you this year? Why?

Work

1. How have you grown in your position?
2. How did you use your specialized skills?
3. How well does your work align with your values?
4. What training did you receive?
5. What pleasure have you found in what you do?
6. What was interesting to you?
7. How would you describe your work-life balance?
8. What were your significant accomplishments this year?
9. What breakthroughs did you experience?

Making the Most of Your Year-End Reflection

Hold up a mirror to yourself and evaluate the year that is about to end. Seek clarity to pinpoint the issues underlying your dissatisfaction so you can improve your life. Defining problem areas can lead you to solve them.

However, don’t dwell entirely on the “negative” results of your year-end reflection. Be sure to celebrate the successes you enjoyed! Relish in the satisfaction of what went well, and carry that happiness into the new year. Keep moving forward to improve your life and the lives of those around you.