The Year-End Review: 5 Questions to Measure Your Progress

The end of 2017 is near, which means 2018 is right around the corner. Before we get swept away by the sea of holiday parties, gift exchanges, and New Years festivities, it might be worthwhile to create the space for an end-of-year review of your personal and professional life. A popular personal development speaker, Brendon Burchard, once stated that if we don’t have it scheduled, it’s not important. So, how important is it for you to grow? Will you make it one of your priorities to create a meaningful life? If so, then taking the time to self-reflect is critical.

Think of it this way. If you’re stranded without a GPS and only have a map to guide you, you need both Points A and B to know how to navigate your path. In other words, it’s not only important for you to know who you want to become; it’s also critical for you to know who you are now.

The Year-End Review: 5 Questions to Measure Your Progress

If you’re like most of us and can’t get enough of the content here on Goalcast, you’re most likely a very driven person, looking to find a path to a significant life. It’s important for you to create a legacy that you’re proud of, and in the short time that you’re here, you want to matter. You want to make a difference. The truth is, the number one regret people have when they’re on their deathbeds is: I wish I had lived a life truer to myself.

READ: How to Follow Your Heart and Live Your Personal Legend

In your quest to make a difference, you may have forgotten who you really are, separate from others’ expectations and their realities. You may have even set coordinates for your Point B that don’t do you justice.

With 2017 almost at a close, I challenge you to assess where you are today. Who have you become so far? Are you on the right path? After an honest assessment, try to reflect on where you want to go, and who you want to become. 

The science of positive psychology found that human flourishing happens via five pathways. Ask yourself where you are on each pathway, and what you can do in 2018 to really maximize your life.

1. How do you rate yourself, on a scale of 1-10, on positivity? Assess the strength of your growth mindset. Reframe the way you look at your world in a way that is helpful to you. Increase the ways you can be grateful for life. 
2. How engaged are you with life at the moment, on a scale of 1-10? How often do you find yourself in flow and absolutely in the zone? Find ways to increase self-regulation in your actions and how you feel. 
3. Assess the quality of your current relationships. Jim Rohn stated that we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with. How happy are you with the type of people you surround yourself with, on a scale of 1-10? Do you have people in your circle that support you, lift you up, and challenge you? Increase your support network, and consider ways in which you can increase your social influence. 
4. No cheating. Tell me in the next 30 seconds what your life creed is. Do you have meaning in your life? How often, on a scale of 1-10, are you living with intention? Increase your purpose and transcend the physical limitations of the human experience. 
5. We’re wired to grow. We’re creative, spiritual beings. Stretch yourself, get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Rate yourself on how satisfied you are with your accomplishments.

After an honest look at where you stand, set intentions and create specific plans for how you’ll pursue them in 2018. Research has found that focusing on enhancing these five areas will help you to live a flourishing life. How will you show up in 2018?