There is something therapeutic and hopeful about hitting January 1. While I’m not one for new year resolutions, I’m a big fan of year-end reflections. Before the year ends I always try and stop and collect some wisdom from the year prior. For me, this involves some journaling. You can do this with fancy pen and paper or in a text file. The important thing is to get these thoughts out of your head and on a screen or piece of paper so you can examine them closer and from different angles.

Here are my year-end prompts in no particular order:

• What went right this year?
• What went wrong this year?
• Where did I make progress?
• Where did I fall behind?
• What should I have done differently?
• Where did I stand in my own way?
• What gave me the most energy this year?
• What took the most energy from me this year?
• What was my biggest mistake?
• What was my best move?
• What brought me the most joy?
• How did this past year show my character?
• Summarize this year in a sentence.

You don’t have to answer all of these. (You don’t have to answer most of them.) But spending some time thinking about the ones that resonate with you may help you head into 2022 with just a bit more wisdom.