Annual Reflection 2021 - My Questions for Self-Reflection

The turn of the year always offers a good opportunity to reflect on the past year in order to start the new one with a positive mindset. Self-reflection is an important tool in this process. Did I achieve my goals? What were my greatest successes? What characteristics prevented me from achieving them? Questions like these can be very insightful and help me to reflect intensively on the past year. Even if I didn't achieve my goals, it's not a big deal, because there's always something to learn. I'm of the opinion that you learn more from negative things than from positive ones.

"Sometimes you win and sometimes you learn."

What is self-reflection?

Self-reflection is the act of thinking about oneself. This involves analyzing and questioning one's actions, thoughts, or feelings.

The goal of self-reflection is always to gain new insights about yourself.

You can analyze individual situations, feelings, habits, or even goals. The best way to do this is to ask yourself specific questions and thereby initiate a thought process. The insights gained can give our lives a new direction. Self-reflection is important for your everyday professional life, but also for your personal development.

You can imagine this process like a muscle – the more you reflect, the stronger this muscle becomes, and the easier it will become for you after a while. So if it doesn't work right away, that's okay; everything takes time.

How do you do self-reflection?

There are no clear instructions on how to reflect "correctly." What I find, however, is that I need to calm down beforehand. For example, if I'm stressed or otherwise too emotionally charged, that's not the best time to reflect.

It works best when you have peace and quiet, can switch off, and can think clearly. Whether you meditate beforehand, do breathing exercises, or do yoga—it's entirely up to you.

You can also grab your digital planner and jot down all the thoughts that are currently swirling around in your head in a mind map. If you're new to digital planners, you can learn more about them here . Start organizing your thoughts. Don't put pressure on yourself if it doesn't work right away; try again later. To get started, it's a good idea to set aside specific days of the week for reflection. Sunday would be a good last day of the week to reflect on the week. Enter the day and time in your calendar and start small.

The questions I ask myself can inspire you to consider your own questions that are appropriate for you and your life situation. My questions relate to the areas in which I want to develop further: my business, my personality, my relationships, finances, sports, health, and nutrition.

The answers help me set course for the coming year so I can achieve my goals with more confidence, and they also provide me with a better foundation for future decisions. I also see where my weaknesses lie, what I need to work on, and what I'm struggling with most—all of these are incredibly important insights.

Why is goal setting so important?

Setting and achieving goals sounds simple, but it isn't. Goals are important for keeping the ship on course. Especially when it comes to long-term goals, perseverance often dwindles and you lose sight of the goal altogether. Once you've set and internalized firm goals, your brain starts to guide you on the right path. You may not know how you'll achieve your goals right now, but as long as you stay on the right track, you'll gain further insights that make your goal more tangible. Mistakes serve as important and indispensable signposts along this path.

Questions for my self-reflection

I have several questions that I ask myself, and I divide them into different areas because I have different goals for each area. Perhaps some of these questions will inspire you and you can come up with your own that fit your goals.

Whenever goals aren't achieved, it becomes interesting to ask: Why didn't I achieve my goals? What can I learn from this? There's something important to take away and learn from every missed goal!

General questions - goals, successes, mistakes

✔️ -Questions

1. Did I achieve my goals? If so, were they too small?
2. What were my greatest achievements this year?
3. Which event had a particularly positive impact on me?
4. What was my best experience?
5. Which decision had a positive impact?

❌ -Questions

1. If I didn't achieve my goals, why not? What did I learn from that?
2. What were my biggest mistakes this year? What could I have done differently?
3. Which event had a particularly negative impact on me?
4. What was my worst experience?
5. Which decision wasn't so good?

Personal development

✔️ -Questions

1. Do I learn regularly or continue my education regularly? What new things have I learned? What am I proud of?
2. What were my biggest learnings in my personal development?
3. What positive impact does my personal development have on my business? How can I enhance this?
4. Do I regularly take time to reflect? If so, how does it help me?
5. What new habit do I want to develop?
6. Am I satisfied with my own development? If so, are there areas I would like to focus more on?

❌ -Questions

1. Do I regularly learn or continue my education? If not, why is that and how can I change it?
2. What are my biggest stumbling blocks in my personal development? Where are my areas for improvement?
3. What negative impact do my construction sites have on my business? How can I improve this?
4. Do I regularly take time to reflect on myself? If not, how can I improve this?
5. What negative habit do I want to break?
6. Am I satisfied with my own development? If not, why not? How can I improve?

Professionally

✔️ -Questions

1. Have I achieved my business goals? If so, did I set them too low?
2. What was my greatest moment of success? What do I learn from it?
3. What fears/hurdles have I overcome in my self-employment?
4. Which newly developed skills have contributed positively to the business?
5. How can I use positive feedback to develop myself further?
6. What went particularly well in business? What did you learn from it?

❌ -Questions

1. Have I achieved my business goals? If not, why not?
2. What mistakes did I make? What can I learn from them?
3. What fears/hurdles am I pushing away?
4. What skills do I lack to move forward?
5. How can I use negative feedback to question myself?
6. What didn't go so well in business? How can I improve it?

Interpersonal relationships

✔️ -Questions

1. Which people have influenced me positively?
2. Which person has impressed me the most? What did I learn from them?
3. What positive influence do my friends, family, and partners have on me? Can I devote more time to them?
4. How can I devote more time to the people who are good for me?

❌ -Questions

1. Which people have influenced me negatively?
2. What characteristics of people evoke negative feelings in me? Can I talk to them about it?
3. What negative influence do friends/family/partners have on me? Why is this?
4. How can I devote less time to people who are not good for me or even reduce contact?

Sports, Health & Nutrition

✔️ -Questions

1. How do I feel after my morning routine? What impact does it have on my well-being/business/goals?
2. How do I feel after exercising? Am I satisfied with it?
3. What impact does a healthy diet have on my everyday life? How do I feel?
4. What makes me feel good? How can I enhance this feeling?
5. Am I happy? If so, what contributes to this?

❌ -Questions

1. If I haven't been consistent with my morning routine, why? How can I improve?
2. Did I exercise daily? On the days I didn't exercise, why didn't it work?
3. Do I eat healthily? If not, why is it difficult for me?
4. What don't I like? How can I change it?
5. Am I happy? If not, what can I change?

Finance

✔️ -Questions

1. Did I achieve my financial goals? If so, were they too small?
2. Am I satisfied with my consumption habits?
3. Am I satisfied with my financial education? What new topics do I want to focus on in the coming year?
4. Did I stick to my investment strategy? What went particularly well? What can I learn from this?

❌ -Questions

1. Have I achieved my financial goals? If not, why haven't I achieved them?
2. Where do I lack knowledge? In which areas do I need further training?
3. Have I made rash or hasty decisions? If so, can I find strategies to avoid them?

Ultimately, it's about making mistakes, learning, making mistakes, and learning. Persistence, patience, and endurance will pay off in the long run. Castles aren't built in the short term. Everything takes time. Being patient with yourself and your own development can be a game-changer. Don't be too hard on yourself if things don't work out right away. Always keep an eye on the positives. If you haven't achieved all of your goals or something isn't going so well, you can still draw valuable insights from them that will help you in the long run. Keep the bigger picture in mind and think long-term.