3 Critical Self Reflection Questions to Help You Review 2021

by nukhba khan

When the year comes to a close, we get filled with excitement. Excited to reset, restart and begin a new chapter. And, it feels so good to get a chance to restart on a clean slate.

But the critical question to ask yourself is how you will do things differently next year to make it an outstanding year for yourself?

New year’s resolutions are what usually come to mind. But there is an important step that needs to be taken before, which gets easily forgotten.

That first step is self-reflection.

If you want to hit the reset button, you first have to fully understand what exactly you are trying to reset. You have to reflect back and learn what exactly is not working and what needs to change. Only then will you create effective resolutions that give you a chance to do things better in the new year and make it a year that feels good for you.

To motivate you further, let’s quickly talk about what self-reflection truly is

WHAT IS SELF REFLECT

Self-reflection is a humbling experience and yet very powerful. It is all about taking the time to think and evaluate yourself and your life.

Without self-reflection, you go through life without any thought and jump from one thing to another as it is presented. We are focused on forward movement in life. But we don’t take a second to think about what is happening within us and how we feel.

With self-reflection, you get a chance to check in on how you are feeling about yourself and your life. Do you like who you are becoming or what you have become? Do you still feel good about where your life is headed? Does it feel good to you?

Self-reflection is creating that self-awareness that helps you understand who you are now and who you’d like to become, and that is the only way to identify the steps you need to take to create a life that feels good to you. And this type of self-reflection is critical to do around the time of a new year.

HOW TO DO SELF REFLECTION

We sometimes overcomplicate the process of self-reflection.

It’s actually more straightforward than we think.

It requires three things: A quiet space. A piece of paper. A pen.

And a simple intention to pause and step away from the daily chaos to ponder life.

So this is what I suggest.

Pick a date and time where you’ll have 15 mins of peace and quiet for yourself.
Schedule it on your calendar.
Decide where you’ll sit and self-reflect.
Get your paper/journal and pen ready, and put it somewhere where you can get to it quickly when the scheduled time comes.
Show up at your scheduled time, ready to connect with yourself and your hidden depths.

Now that you know how easy it is to prepare, let me share the 3 critical questions you need to ask yourself and reflect on at the end of the year. These 3 simple yet powerful questions will help you better understand what you need to focus on in 2022 to make it a feel-good year for yourself.

SELF REFLECTION QUESTIONS FOR GROWTH

The simple way to start reflecting on 2021 is by thinking about these three things:

What did you love about last year?
What would you leave out?
What could you improve or add more of in your life?

And all you have to do is put pen to paper and allow the flow of thoughts to be scribed without any judgment or criticism.

What were the moments you absolutely love about 2021?

Think about what were your top 3 memorable and stand-out moments in 2021 that you absolutely loved. In both your personal and professional life.
Why were these moments so good? Dig deeper on why exactly you loved these moments, keep probing and asking why to get to the root cause.
What type of feelings and emotions did these moments create for you? Explore the emotions you experience when you feel good
How could you have created more of these feel-good moments?

Takeaway insight: to understand what feelings and emotions make you feel good in life and create more of such moments next year.

2. What were the moments you wish you could leave out in 2021?

Think about the 3 things that happened last year that you wish could have been left out. In both your personal and professional life.
Why exactly did you not like these events or moments? Dig deeper on why exactly you did not like these moments, keep probing and asking why to get to the root cause.
What type of feelings and emotions did you experience during these moments? Explore the emotions you experience when you don’t feel good.
What could you have done differently to avoid these moments?

Takeaway insight: to better understand what feelings and emotions make you feel dissatisfied and unhappy in life and how you can avoid them.

3. What could you have added or improved to make 2021 even better?

Thinking back to your past year, what could you have done differently to have made it better? Write down the first 2-3 things that come to your mind.
Is there anything that stops you from doing the things you listed above?
What would help you move past the resistance that holds you back from doing the things that can improve your life?
What is the smallest action you can take to start doing what can improve your life?

Takeaway insight: Start exploring the different ways you can better your life.

After reflecting on the above 3 questions, it’s time to bring it all together through a fun little self-reflection activity.

SELF-REFLECTION ACTIVITY

WRITE A LETTER TO YOUR FUTURE SELF, YOU IN 2022 AND BEYOND.

We are always looking for advice from other people. Sometimes family and friends, sometimes from people who have gone through experiences and can teach us a lesson or two, and sometimes from inspirational thought leaders. But have you wondered why you never ask the person who knows you the best and knows you inside-out - i.e., yourself.

You know yourself better than anyone, and you’ve had many experiences in life that have taught you very many things. It’s important to remember to tap into your own wisdom for advice on what you need to do to better your life and improve your life.

You have gathered insights on what made you happy last year, as well as some of the obstacles that came your way. Now, it is time to bring it together by writing a note to your future self about the things you learned, experienced, feared, and hoped for in the past 12 months.

It’s time to give your future self, you in 2022, much-needed advice on what you need to focus on and what you need to avoid.

Here are a few prompts to help you get started:

What type of moments bring you the most joy, and how can you create more of such moments?
What type of moments depleted your energy, and what you could do to avoid such experiences?
What were the 3 big lessons learned in the past year, and how can you apply those lessons to improve yourself and your life?
What are some things you overlooked in your life this year or took for granted, and how can you show more appreciation for these things next year?
What are some things you are holding onto that no longer serve you (people, habits, attitude), and how can you start to let them go and make space for new and better things?

FINAL THOUGHTS: Why Is It Important To Self Reflect

Self-reflection is an empowering experience, and we underestimate its impact on our lives. You will be amazed how much you can learn and grow if you take the time to look inwards and reflect on your life and yourself. It is one of the most natural ways to build a stronger connection with yourself and bring more positivity to your life.

I want to leave you with a few key benefits of making time to self-reflect, especially around the time of a new year and new beginnings. I hope these benefits compel you to start your very own personal self-reflection practice.

Top reasons for doing self-reflection:

To make sense of things: self-reflection is a great tool to process your thoughts and emotions. Writing about what you are going through can help you understand why you are feeling the way you are feeling and help you navigate through those feelings.
To increase self-awareness & self-acceptance: it gives you the chance to stop and check in on yourself to see how you are feeling about where you are in life and where you are headed. And to see if there is a need to recalibrate and change direction.
To live life with more intention: self-reflection is a necessary reminder of what goes on in your life and whether your life is still aligned with your values. It encourages and pushes you to think about how you can live your life in a way that is true to your purpose and feels good.

Don’t overcomplicate the self-reflection practice and simply start.

Take a piece of paper and a pen, and start answering the 3 questions I talked about in this blog. And see the self-reflection magic happen for yourself.

Good luck!

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