{"id":9231,"date":"2023-12-21T12:13:45","date_gmt":"2023-12-21T12:13:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thekateoutdoors.uk\/?p=9231"},"modified":"2024-01-19T17:52:46","modified_gmt":"2024-01-19T17:52:46","slug":"end-of-year-reflection-a-how-to-guide-with-coaching-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thekateoutdoors.uk\/end-of-year-reflection-a-how-to-guide-with-coaching-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"End of Year Reflection; A How to Guide with Coaching Questions"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Rolo and a (near) Winter Solstice sunrise in Crystal Palace Park<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Amidst the chaos of Christmas, there&#8217;s a yearning in me for introspection right now. I\u2019m an extrovert and love a Christmas get-together, but I also need pockets of quiet and space to enjoy and appreciate the essence of this season.<br \/>\nLike nature\u2019s cycle of hibernation, December provides the perfect opportunity <strong>to take a pause and reflect at the end of the year,<\/strong> on what&#8217;s really mattered to me, and what I choose to take forwards into the next.<\/p>\n<p>The end of year reflection exercise I\u2019ve created below is no annual work-appraisal! My intention is that you&#8217;ll <strong>glean meaningful insights about You<\/strong> this year. This is about remembering your strengths and skills, those brilliant character traits as an individual &#8211; a reminder of what you\u2019re great at and what you love to do &#8211; all of which have contributed to your growth.<\/p>\n<p>This is for you, whether you&#8217;re experiencing:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Feeling stuck or drained, as though 2023 cab just fade away (see My Invitation), or<\/li>\n<li>At a crossroads &#8211; which way to turn, what to do? You can specifically read more <a href=\"https:\/\/thekateoutdoors.uk\/at-a-crossroads-in-life-5-powerful-tips-to-chose-your-path\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HERE<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Curiosity &#8211; energised by the potential gains and possibilities from self-reflection<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I hope it serves as a gentle nudge to harness the positives within you to take forwards into 2024!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Tips<\/h2>\n<p>Think of;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Your small wins amongst the challenging experiences &#8211; a new skill, connection with new people, a healthy habit you\u2019ve developed<\/li>\n<li>What you have loved doing this year &#8211; however seemingly small or insignificant<\/li>\n<li>And what has energised you, lifted you up<\/li>\n<li>Be kind on yourself &#8211; and notice if you be kinder still<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You ultimately choose what to take with you into 2024.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Benefits of an End of Year Reflection Exercise<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Reflection &#8211; gives the brain an opportunity to pause and slow down. We carry so much information; social media, advertising, the mental load. This is an opportunity to untangle and sort through this year\u2019s positive moments to be proud of, boost your confidence and cultivate a sense of gratitude<\/li>\n<li>Perspective &#8211; and allowing it &#8211; provides another possible interpretation, a growth mindset approach, particularly when thinking of an event that\u2019s felt challenging<\/li>\n<li>Increased self-awareness and confidence &#8211; of the good stuff about YOU to be more of your authentic self<\/li>\n<li>Increased sense of wellbeing &#8211; this can be a healthy, positive exercise on You<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>How to Reflect at the End of the Year:<\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li>\u00a0 \u00a0Your environment &#8211; in a cafe? Out on a walk? Go somewhere inspiring where you won&#8217;t be distracted the your day to day stuff that could get in the way<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0 \u00a0Create quality time to do this &#8211; 30 mins minimum, better still an hour to think deeper<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0 \u00a0Your approach &#8211; on your own? With a friend over coffee? In chunks &#8211; ie part one and a revisit as a part two?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>I prefer to do this specific exercise in a group. My friend <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lynray.co.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lyn Ray<\/a> is also a Life Coach, based in Edinburgh, and I&#8217;ve joined her group especially for this exercise over the past 3 years! It always surprises me what comes out of my pen and what I learn about myself that boosts my confidence and pride. As a small business, I enjoy being with others for this kind of work &#8211; connection, support, banter and fun!<\/p>\n<p>But otherwise I&#8217;d do this in a cafe with good coffee, cake and nice people. I often take a piece of work to one of my local cafes in Sydenham, London, put my air pods in, and take them out and talk to people on a break. And of course, I think super well out on a walk by myself &#8211; good for when I have a smaller question in mind.<\/p>\n<p>Whatever you do, have an open attitude and a growth mindset &#8211; what can you learn here about yourself? <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might surprise yourself!<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_9233\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9233\" style=\"width: 768px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-9233\" src=\"https:\/\/thekateoutdoors.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Kate_winter_sunrise-768x1024.webp\" alt=\"Midlife woman in warm wintry clothing with sunrise\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thekateoutdoors.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Kate_winter_sunrise-768x1024.webp 768w, https:\/\/thekateoutdoors.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Kate_winter_sunrise-225x300.webp 225w, https:\/\/thekateoutdoors.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Kate_winter_sunrise-1152x1536.webp 1152w, https:\/\/thekateoutdoors.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Kate_winter_sunrise-1536x2048.webp 1536w, https:\/\/thekateoutdoors.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Kate_winter_sunrise-scaled.webp 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-9233\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">Appreciating the small wins of a Winter sunrise in Sydenham Wells Park<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>10 Life Coaching Questions<\/h2>\n<p>Consider using these coaching prompts to gently guide you on your end of year reflection:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>\u00a0 \u00a0What were the highlights of this year &#8211; big and small &#8211; that brought me a sense of achievement?<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0 \u00a0Briefly, what were the significant challenges or setbacks I faced? What positive traits have I learnt about myself?<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0 \u00a0What did I do for my physical and mental health in 2023? What difference has it made?<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0 \u00a0What tasks or activities have energised me in 2023?<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0 \u00a0What\u2019s drained me in 2023?<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0 \u00a0What am I most proud of in 2023?<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0 \u00a0What am I grateful for this year?<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0 \u00a0From these reflections, what do I want to take into 2024?<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0 \u00a0From what I\u2019ve written, how have I grown this year?<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0 \u00a0And what will I leave behind?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Moving forwards<\/h2>\n<p>Once you&#8217;ve reflected, move onto goal-setting &#8211; but if you&#8217;re a bit of a thinker like me, perhaps chunk it down and leave this for another time.<\/p>\n<p>I wrote about values orientated goals <a href=\"https:\/\/thekateoutdoors.uk\/how-to-set-goals-in-life-and-achieve-them-the-right-way\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HERE<\/a> if you&#8217;re interested.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>One final thought<\/h2>\n<p>Kindness. Above all, approach reflection and yourself with kindness to yourself, as you would a friend. Celebrate your successes, no matter how small they may seem. Embrace your challenges as opportunities towards personal growth.<br \/>\nReflection isn\u2019t about dwelling on mistakes or shortcomings; it\u2019s about learning and evolving.<\/p>\n<p>You can prepare for a new year with possibilities and the promise of growth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Amidst the chaos of Christmas, there&#8217;s a yearning in me for introspection right now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9234,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[47,48,40,17,34,22,29],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thekateoutdoors.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9231"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thekateoutdoors.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thekateoutdoors.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thekateoutdoors.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thekateoutdoors.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9231"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/thekateoutdoors.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9231\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9299,"href":"https:\/\/thekateoutdoors.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9231\/revisions\/9299"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thekateoutdoors.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thekateoutdoors.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thekateoutdoors.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thekateoutdoors.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}