New Year Activity: Reflection on 2018

We are approaching the end of 2018 and our Be Happy family is preparing for a vacation. Every year, around this time, we take a month off to recharge our batteries. I believe that recharging our batteries is very important. It’s like eating food. We eat so we can get through 3-4 hours without food, and the quality of our food is important. For me, holidays are food for the soul and they give us the energy to survive the next year.

I think we are a lucky family, because we can take that time off. I do not take it for granted, because I know many people can only take the week of Christmas and New Year off.

I often measure the quality of the year by how many vacations I’ve taken. This year was a great year for me, because I took several short and long breaks. I am very grateful for being able to do that.

Every holiday is a lesson in perspective that allows me to examine my life and make changes for the following days, months and years of my life. I want to help you do the same, even if you can’t take a long vacation.

I have been writing this blog for many years and it already contains nearly 1,400 posts. Over that time, every birthday and every New Year, I looked for ways to inspire my readers to take stock of the previous year and charge their batteries with motivation for the year to come.

I wish that next year will be the best year of your life. With this wish, there is no limit to the happiness and goodness in life. If we progress and move forward a little bit every year, we will have a better life.

Reflecting on last year

This year, I decided to make a list of 100 things you can do that will allow you to take stock of the previous year and prepare yourself for the next year. It includes many questions to answer and lists to make and it only requires time. Well, maybe it requires a bit of honesty as well, and a desire to change for the better.

Please remember that change is not about fixing ourselves, because we are not broken. It’s about moving forward and increasing our happiness.

This activity should not take long. It takes time to think about the answers, and that is the real work. If you want, do it in installments. Go over it once, answer and make the lists you can, then come back the day after to continue with harder questions.

The breaks you take in between are very important. Once you plant a question in your mind, it will work in the background to find the answer.

A short time can make a huge difference, because it will bring some clarity into the way you think, the events of last year and your relationships, and it will save you going to someone to help you do this evaluation.

This list is a summary of years of work with many clients. It is a good starting point to change the parts in your life you don’t like and do more of the things that bring you love and happiness.

Last year’s ratings: how happy are you with your 2018?

The first part of the reflection activity helps you score your past year by rating various aspects of your life during 2018. In the next post, we’ll dig a big deeper.

Use a scale of 1-10 for your scores, 1 being “very unhappy” and 10 being “very happy”. Just write a number. Your brain will do the work of analyzing. Just read each question and write down the first number that comes into your head, because it’s the right one.

Rate your happiness level in the area of physical health
Rate your happiness level in the area of emotional health
Rate your happiness level regarding your social life
Rate your happiness level regarding your relationship with your parents, siblings
Rate your happiness level about your relationship with partner/spouse/ boyfriend/girlfriend
Rate your happiness level with your family if you have an immediate family: partner and children
Rate your happiness level regarding work
Rate your happiness level in the area of money
Rate your happiness level regarding hobbies
Rate your happiness level regarding time management
Rate your happiness level regarding personal development
Rate your happiness level regarding spirituality
Overall, what percentage of the last year were you happy/content/satisfied/loving?
Do you like this percentage?