I’ve been noticing A LOT of others writing about the year in review and the year to come. They encourage their readers to look back at 2011 with questions to evoke insights, a-ha’s, memories of things learned — painful lessons to big wins. Big questions, really. What are you most proud of accomplishing in 2011? What is the biggest lesson you learned? What worked? What didn’t?
Now, I don’t know about you, but for me big questions like this can shut me down rather than inspire me. …and just as I was noticing that I was starting to shut down in the face of these questions, I saw my rebellious self step in. “Wait! Why do I have to do things the way EVERYBODY else is doing them? Why do I have to answer these questions? It’s no wonder I’m getting shut down. I don’t really think in terms of ‘the year in review!’” Then my curious self responded, “Oh, but I so want to play this game of reflection. Not so much because EVERYBODY’s doing it, but because I want to see for myself what the fuss is all about!”
…and then I noticed my rebellious self start to get a bit judgmental, her fists on her hips. My curious self shared more. “Look at the different ways people are posing this concept,” she pointed out. “Some are posing big questions, as you’ve mentioned, yet others are sharing their own “year in review” process. They’re finding their own way of playing along with this game! Some don’t even speak in terms of “best of” or “biggest,” but have many and varied experiences that they’re recalling. Some of those experiences were difficult, even. It seems that for some people, the small or brief or vague were quite notable, too. My self-caring self, stepped in to join Curiosity. “Oh, how lovely! They’re acknowledging themselves for not just what they’ve done or accomplished, but for how they’ve shown up!”
Curiosity said, “I wonder what we might come up with if we reflect for a while on the past year?” The Rebel cautioned: “Won’t you just be succumbing to the masses? I think it’s important that we look at how we show up more often than once a year at this time!” …and Self-Care said, “I know! Let’s look in the places we already keep records of what we’ve done, experiences we’ve had, people we’ve encountered, things we’ve set out to do, intentions we’ve set for being.” Curiosity and The Rebel each took on the sheen of Self-Care as they considered that this might just work. All three sat down together at the desk and began to explore.
What comes up for you when you hear all the hype of “the year in review”? Does it encourage you, shut you down or something altogether different? If you’ve felt somehow on the outside or that year-end sort of review just doesn’t fit you, what other perspectives might you try on? I’d love to hear from you! Your comments and questions are most welcome. 
