Reflect on the year.
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”
— Søren Kierkegaard.
THE LOWDOWN
Around this time of the year, it’s a very common thing to hear people saying things like “this was a great year” or “ this was and awful year… can’t wait for it to end!” If you really think about it, this is a very weird thing since time is just time. We could even think that every day is the beginning of a new year! But we humans love structure, its cozy predictability makes us feel warm and gooey inside!
So for our last practice of 2019, we invite you to put half an hour aside anytime before the clock strikes 12 on the 31st, make yourself a nice cuppa, get pen and paper and reflect on the year past. Ideally without labelling the events as good or bad but rather reflecting calmly and objectively, so you can have a better and more complete understanding of them, unclouded by strong emotions or reactivity.
WHY IS IT GOOD?
As long as it’s done consciously and intentionally, spending some time reflecting on our lives is an incredibly useful exercise. Not only it helps us learn and improve but also to appreciate the good things that happen to us, make amendments when needed, set new goals and it stops time from slipping away. This exercise will help you:
Celebrate your achievements and then kindly let them go, so you don’t get attached.
Learn from your mistakes and also let them go.
Practice self-compassion with the things you wish you’d done differently.
Sum up all the things you’ve learnt and consolidate that knowledge.
Reassess your life and think if you want to make any changes.
Find silver-linings to difficult situations.
Practice gratitude for the people, things and achievements in your life.
SOME IDEAS
There are lots of things that you can reflect on. We give you some possible questions for you to choose the ones you want to explore:
What things brought me joy? How can I have more of these?
What things could be improved? How?
What have I learnt?
What have I achieved?
What things do I want to leave behind? Maybe an unhealthy habit?
How did I overcome my biggest obstacles?
What am I grateful for?
What areas of my life did I put most of my energy and time on? Would I do it again?
Are there any significant changes I feel are needed?
EXTRA BROWNIE POINTS
Share your insights with other people to help them reflect on their own 2019.
A very big thank you for accompanying us through this year’s practices, wishing you buckets of joy, peace and growth for 2020!!
Vero and Enrique
Choose your rhythm.
Kensho Life
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