It started with this Instagram post by my wife Lisa:

I loved her simple, compact list of positive things that happened in our family over the past year. It got me thinking about how a short reflection on the previous year could positively shape my personal development focus for the year to come.

Here is a simple “finish the sentences” exercise that can help you have a better, more focused new year. Spend just one minute completing each of these thoughts:

1. Looking back over last year, I’m so glad that I…

2. Looking back over last year, I wish I had…

For example, I finished these sentences like this:

1. Looking back over last year, I’m so glad that I…

a. finished my first novel

b. moved from a house in Arizona to an apartment in California

c. changed careers from a musician to a writer

d. sold most of my possessions and went (relatively) minimalist

2.  Looking back over last year, I wish I had…

a.  called my parents more often

b.  volunteered combating homelessness more often

c.  journaled

d.  written more blog posts

How would you complete those sentences? Maybe your “glad” list would include things like “took that new job,” “quit smoking,” or “started that hobby.” Maybe your “wish” list would have things like “spent more time with friends,” “forgave my brother,” or “read more books and watched less TV.” 

Whatever makes your lists, let the feelings of both satisfaction and regret this exercise generates motivate you to make better decisions in the coming year. Allow them to be lenses through which you evaluate new opportunities. Have them serve as guides that help you navigate the sea of choices you’ll face. Remember how good you feel about your accomplishments and your disappointment over your missteps. Commit to take actions that will lengthen next year’s “glad” list and shorten your “wish” list. If you do, you’ll take another big New Year’s step toward Becoming Yourself.