At the end of the year, you need to be accountable for how you spent that year. Accountability helps you to keep a record, and it shows you the result of your effort throughout the year. If you are confused about your progress, be accountable to yourself. While you’re at it, it will help if you are honest with yourself. With your honesty, you will discover if you are moving forward or backwards. With your accountability, you will be able to recognise where your weakness is and where your strength lies. One of the ways to do this is by asking yourself questions yearly. However, what questions should you ask yourself to get the right answer? That is what today’s post is about, and it helps you to recognise the right questions that will be useful to your goals.
The end of the year is usually the busiest time of the year. This is because people are preparing for the start of another year. Before proceeding, if you are interested in similar content, please like and share this. In the section below, leave a comment or two. Please note that these questions discussed below are for reflection purposes.
In a sentence, how can you sum up the year?
Each year that passes by is utterly different from the other. At the end of the year, you need to know how to summarise the year in one sentence. The answer to this question does not have to be a long story; it is called a summary. The answer could be “The year was a successful one” or “The year was mostly for showing up”. It all depends on what you experienced during the year. Did you achieve much? Or were you barely keeping your head above water?
What lessons did you learn during the year?
As we journey on our different paths in life, experience is often summed up as lessons. Everyone’s life lessons are different because we all make different life decisions. Some of our choices are beneficial, while some usually cost us a lot. However, at the end of the year, it will be great if you can make a list of those lessons that you learnt. It will help you start another year, or it could benefit someone else. You will enjoy the most incredible benefits because it will serve as a blueprint to living a life different from your past mistakes. You can frame those lessons and hang them on the wall; it could serve as a daily reminder.
What surprised you most during the year?
Life is full of surprises; they could be negative or positive. Before the new year begins, you must recognise the things that threw you off balance. In your darkest time, did anything you least expected happened to you as a surprise? During those periods, what was out of your control? You need to keep a record of things like this, which will help you in the coming years. Get your notebook and write down things that unfolded for you that you didn’t expect.
What are you proud of?
There is a need to be proud of something in your life. It is a sign that you are satisfied with something you have done during the year. That particular thing has to be worthy of recognition, and you must note it. If there is nothing to be proud of, be proud of your existence. It shows how much you have self-esteem. Have a great passion for the life you are living. When you are grateful for your life, it may motivate others to do the same. Take into consideration everything you have achieved since the beginning of the year. Those achievements, when acknowledged, are capable of taking you to higher places. Don’t underestimate yourself by looking down on yourself. Don’t leave the small accomplishments out because they are still an accomplishment. Be proud of even the small things that helped you during the year. Research has shown that many people believe you should only be proud of yourself when you have achieved something huge. However, this is not true because everyone has a definition of what achievement means to them.
What’s your favourite purchase?
What’s your favourite purchase?This has to do with something that you spend money on before the end of the year. Which of those items is your favourite? Ask yourself these questions and write down how much you like them. It may be a video game or food. Many people enjoy spending money on buying good food. If you particularly like the food, that could be your favourite purchase.
What did you develop?
In terms of development, it could be a skill. What skills were you able to acquire before the year ended? It is only when you make a list of those skills that you can think of how to earn from them. There is no use in gathering skills you are not using to earn an income. Make a long list of all the skills that you have mastered, and think of how you can take it to the next level. Undoubtedly, you learnt those skills for a reason. In the coming years, instead of acquiring more skills, you can consider mastering how to get an audience and sell the skills to them. Without making a list, chances are high that you may be confused about what to do with them.
What made you happy?
This depends on an individual’s personality. Different things make us happy. For some, it could be a regular exercise. For many people, their happiness lies in seeing other people happy. Before the end of the year, what made you smile more? Was there any trip that you made that caused you excitement? Once you know all these, you will be able to differentiate between what makes you sad from what truly brings you happiness. If there is nothing that makes you happy, when next you wake up, start your day with gratitude.
What was your best discovery?
As humans, we survive on the importance of discoveries. There are many things in existence that we do not know of. During the year, you can make a personal or scientific discovery. That is an achievement, and you need to acknowledge it. Those discoveries could be in your personal or business life. They automatically serve as a guide to lead you towards making a better decision. Many people don’t know their life purpose. With the discovery of your purpose, your life will have stability, and you will live a healthy life.
Were you able to reach your goals?
At the beginning of the year, we all made a list of goals we wanted to achieve before the year ran out. The year is ending, and you need to work towards reviewing those things listed. This will allow you to recalculate and move higher in the coming year. This prevents you from losing track of your progress. You need to review the outcome of your goals. If you don’t check those goals, you are likely to repeat those mistakes. You need this record to plan for new goals. Those that you failed to achieve can be repeated in the coming year. A record of your goals is what completes the process of goal actualisation. To be great, you need to review your goals consistently. This is one of the best ways to determine where you are and differentiate it from where you are going.
Which difficult challenge did you meet?
Life is not a bed of roses, there are difficult times, but it doesn’t last forever. Please make a list of the complex challenges that you encountered and how you were able to solve them. For instance, your complex challenges may be a breakup or loss of a job. Similar to how love happens, breakups are common too. There are times that love is challenging to handle, and the best thing to do in that situation is to let go of toxic love. If this happens to you, before the start of a new year, do your best to accept the situation. You should consider getting busy with something productive and understand that love can happen again. The pain you feel at this moment is going to subside, and you will be happy again.
What technological tool made your life easier?
The world is becoming more advanced technologically. Many developed tools have made task execution easy. Throughout the year, which of these tools is your favourite? For a graphics designer, it may be the Canva app. This is because it has many functions and templates that have made design easy.
What did you do this year that you have never done before?
What did you do this year that you have never done before?Some things are always a first for us. Is there something that you were able to accomplish this year that you have never done in the previous year? For instance, it could be joining a gym; being a gym member may be the first for you. It may not be a big deal for others, but it could be for you. Feel free to take note of it. It could also be your ability to organise a cooking class. There is always a first time in everything.
What was your biggest failure?
Similar to the way we have big wins, there are also failures. In life, failures and success are two sides of a coin. That is why people are advised to keep moving even after a fall. Before the end of the year, was there a task or project that was important to you that you failed to perform well? Please don’t be ashamed to own up to your failures because they are part of your stories.
Did you suffer from any illness?
No matter how much we take care of our health, there are times that we still fall sick. At the end of the year, check your medical records. Make plans on how you can avoid a similar occurrence in that situation. No one likes to be sick because it prevents one from doing the good things of life.
What are the hardships that you feel?
This has to do with the challenges you experience before the end of the year. It could be a money hardship. You can consider making plans on how you can avert such situations. In addition, learning more about financial management before the new year will be a good idea. Read books on investment, budgeting and savings. It will help to transform your financial life.
What song was your best?
Everyone has that song that lifts their mood. What was the best song in your downtime and happy moment? You need to keep a record of that before the year-end.
What quote sums up your year?
If you are, to sum up, the year with a quote, what will it be? Examples of such quotes include; “develop success from failure” by Dale Carnegie. Truthfully, failures and discouragement are always on our paths to success.
Bonus
What would you like to acknowledge yourself for before the new year begins?
This is about you celebrating your inner strength. However, you cannot celebrate it unless you recognise their existence. By acknowledging those things, it will be easier for you to celebrate yourself for all the achievements you made during the year. Many people think they don’t deserve the good things of life because they don’t know how capable they are. You need to believe that you are worthy of good things for great things to start happening in your life. You don’t express gratitude to other people and forget yourself. You are as important as those people you are grateful for; appreciate yourself for holding on and for being strong.
There are times when your path in life may seem daunting. During those times, these questions can help keep you on track. The answer to these questions will push you to be as honest as possible. If you want to be successful, be accountable for your hard work by asking yourself these questions. They will help you to determine what to do in order to be successful. This way, it will be easier for you to discover if there is any mistake with any of your actions during the year. You will be able to learn and correct things as the New Year begins.
I hope you gain a deep insight into what accountability means from this post? Please, like and share this content with your loved ones. Are there any questions that you ask yourself that were not mentioned? You can leave such questions in the section below. It may be the right question a person needs to achieve success. Check out also these related posts on “7 powerful life lessons that we are often taught too late“.
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