In the development of software as part of Agile and the end of each Sprint there is something called a Retrospective. This is where you review now what was done but the process or how it was done. It is an interesting technique to help improve so the next time the team does it better. When it comes to personal lives, often we create resolutions, or promises that most people stop after a week or two. This is forward thinking but not really dissecting the previous year.

This weekend, I was kind of busy but now have a three day weekend, I decided to evaluate last year but asking myself a series of tough questions, and then figure out adjustments I should make. I challenge others to do the same, and it does not have to be once a year, you can do it anytime you want to make a change. I broke it into a series of categories.

Growth

  1. What was my big win for the year? What was the one accomplishment that stood out, and that I am proud of?
  2. What new skill did I move from the “I want to learn that” to I added that to my tool belt?
  3. What was one thing that stood in my way?
  4. What did I change my Mind on last year?
  5. What held my back from my potential? (could be person, challenges etc)
  6. What didn’t I do because of fear?

Health

  1. Did I do good enough on my diet?
  2. How consistent was I on my exercise, did I improve in anyway?
  3. What state is my body in the end of the year?
  4. What habit should I deprecate?
  5. What created energy for me?
  6. What took away energy from me?

Experiences

  1. What did I experience last year that made an impact on my life?
  2. What did I avoid or say no to, that I regretted?
  3. Did I invest enough in core relationships ?
  4. What experiences made me feel most alive?

I am sure there could be more, and though i wanted to keep it short, maybe 5-10 questions, as I started writing them I realized, that I wanted to dig deeper into my year and figure out how to improve myself.

This opinion is mine, and mine only, my current or former employers have nothing to do with it. I do not write for any financial gain; I do not take advertising and any product company listed was not done for payment. But if you do like what I write you can donate to the charity I support (with my wife who passed away in 2017) Morgan Stanley’s Children’s Hospital or donate to your favorite charity. The fundraising site had to be restarted, and NYP Hospital made changes to their donation sites. I pay to host my site out of my own pocket; my intention is to keep it free.  You are welcome to comment, but note it is moderated, and all spam will be removed. 
 
This Blog is a labor of love and was originally going to be a book. With the advent of being able to publish yourself on the web I chose this path. I will write many of these and not worry too much about grammar or spelling (I will try to come back later and fix it) but focus on content. I apologize in advance for my ADD as often topics may flip. I hope one day to turn this into a book and or a podcast, but for now it will remain a blog.  AI is not used in this writing other than using the web to find information. Images without notes are created using an AI tool that allows me to reuse them.