At the end of a year I always find value in contemplating what was. This New Year's Eve the clock is hurriedly ticking away towards midnight, and in this post I am simply laying out some areas that are worth considering. When I left school for the real world, I often missed the comfort of receiving a report card that would tell me how I was doing, and what needed work. The end of a year (or any project) is a good opportunity to work that report card out from the inside.
The areas to evaluate depend on one's priorities at a given time. This year my areas for evaluation were family, community, well-being, career, finance and enjoyment. Never before has family really figured in my awareness, but thanks to recent events it has been the key focus of this year for me.
Each area can be scored with a symbol (A, B, C etc., just like school days), percentage, stars or smiley faces, but the important thing is to dig deep down to an honest self-evaluation. To make the evaluation meaningful, it is best to add positive achievements from the past year, as well as areas for improvement. Again, it is all about personal priorities, and these will be different for each person.
So how did I do in 2011? Well, one thing I can be satisfied with is that there is a great deal of room for improvement! It was a traumatic and taxing year that asked a great deal of me, and while I learnt a great deal, I expected better from myself. The details are deep and dark and personal, and I will not include them here, but I will show my scores... and in a later post there will be more on the areas for improvement in the new year.
Family: A-
Community: B
Well-being: D
Career: B-
Finance: B-
Enjoyment: C
As to enjoyment, I just might make the a C+ if I head out to watch the midnight fireworks now... Happy New Year!
| Image: bigfoto.com |
