Featured Article
The New Year, a Time for Reflection and Renewal
Written by Leigh Spencer, Improving Lives Volunteer and Mental Health Advocate
As one year ends and another begins, it is the perfect moment to take time for reflection and renewal, a time to pause and review the past twelve months to see what went well and what didn’t. To also think about what you would like to achieve during the coming year.
When reflecting on the past year, it is far easier to look at what went wrong than looking at what went right. It seems selfish to praise ourselves for all those times when our actions went smoothly, so we ignore them. However it is important to take time to reflect on those times and see what went well. It could be you asked for help, or you didn’t put pressure on yourself or you made it fun. Look for the positives, no matter how small they are.
Reflecting needn’t only take place at the end of the year; it can take place at any time for any reason and is also very beneficial for you in many ways, not just for looking back at past events. Here are some examples:
It can help you improve decision making as the more you understand yourself you’ll be able to assess all your options
and how they’ll affect you.
Increases self-awareness as you learn and understand your strengths, weaknesses, fears, beliefs and values.
Helps with learning as you can find out about your learning style, how to set goals and monitor your progress.
Improves your communication skills as by understanding how you’re feeling it can help you convey yourself honestly
and clearly.
Assists in helping you process your experiences whether they’re positive or negative, so that you can learn from them.
Helps you with evaluating your actions and holding yourself accountable and this in turn will help you with attaining any
goals that you’ve set for yourself.
The joy of reflecting whether it is about specific actions or life in general is that it can be done at anytime and anywhere. You can do it while you’re walking, journaling, sitting quietly, listening to music, daydreaming, talking to someone you trust, whatever you feel comfortable with. Sometimes a reflection can pop up at the most unexpected moments, what is important is to embrace it as it will help you to move forward.
Let us take a look at journaling as a way of reflecting. If it is something that you find appealing, you can write about your day, your week, your month, whatever you’re happy with. Journaling can provide you with a way of recording specific events and your thoughts, your feelings, ideas and goals that you might have and your personal development. As you’re writing in your journal you can take a moment to reflect. Or you can use it to review the week, the month, the year, and it is a nice way to look back and see what you’ve achieved.
The New Year is also a time for renewal, a time to see if there are changes you would like to make. They could be to do with where you live, your job whether voluntary or paid, or do you want to make some changes about yourself? The process of renewal should be fun, manageable and realistic.
Do you know that about 65% of people who make New Year’s resolutions have abandoned them by the end of January? Some of the reasons for this are that the resolutions are often unrealistic, that they are too big and you’re not reflecting on why you want to achieve them. There is also the chance you might develop an all or nothing mentality, meaning you have to achieve them perfectly.
Micro goals often work best, but if you do have a large goal in mind, break it down into bite size pieces. It might be you decide to sort out your kitchen, one day you could sort out a drawer or maybe two, another day a cupboard, or a shelf. Whether it takes a week, a month or even a year at the end of it you can be proud of yourself for achieving your goal.
Renewal can also be about simple things for some it may be a morning affirmation, taking time to meditate or practice mindfulness for others it might be dusting off a book you’ve been meaning to read and reading a page, it could be having a clear out or changing things around to give our space a new feel. It is also helpful as you go through the year to reflect on the changes you are making to see if they are working and if there are any adjustments that need to be made, you may even have some new ones that you’d like to accomplish. Above all else, enjoy the changes you make, celebrate your wins, and don’t put pressure on yourself to succeed immediately. After all as the saying goes 'slow and steady wins the race'.
There are times when caring for ourselves means we need a listening ear and help from other people. Below are resources you can turn to when you need them: