The last month of the year can be the best excuse to review what has happened professionally for you (our minds love such pretexts). However, sometimes we tend to be unfair and quickly conclude, influenced by fatigue or the emotions of the moment: it went all wrong!
Maybe you will ask what the use of this exercise is. Here’s why: the moment we start reflecting on such questions, we become more aware of what’s going on in our minds, we translate our experience into words, and this only imprints it even better in our memory; thus, we self-generate a set of tools that we can apply in the future. That is, by reflecting on the past, we lay the foundations for the future.
Here are some ideas to guide you in having a more balanced and grounded reflection process. Take the months of the year one by one, remember and write down all the projects you were involved in and try to answer the following questions:
- What did you focus on this year in terms on career development?
- What are your achievements?
- What makes you satisfied with everything you’ve done? Think about the important moments as well as the everyday responsibilities.
- What is the feedback you received from those you work with (colleagues, clients, managers)
- What were your strengths this year? What personal traits/qualities have you used the most? For example, one may be a good problem solver, another may work well under pressure, etc.
- What were the points of insecurity this year? Where else do you have to work?
- What did you learn about yourself (pleasant or unpleasant) from the difficult moments?
- What do you want from your professional development in the next year? Think both in terms of achievements (goals) and in terms of personal development.
- How can you get there? Who can support you?
- What can you do, actively, to have your mind as balanced and prepared as possible for the coming year?
Success!
