Gearing Up for a Fresh Start in 2025? Not So Fast!

The case for starting with a strong finish.

Are you feeling that little shot of motivation as the New Year approaches?

This is what psychologists call “The Fresh Start Effect.” Studies show that a temporal landmark, like the beginning of a year, can have a strong motivational effect on people’s intentions to pursue their goals.

But here’s the tricky part.

The reason a fresh start is so motivating is it allows you to disassociate from your past actions and your past imperfect self. But don’t blow past the year you’ve just lived and what it has to teach you.

If you don’t reflect on and learn your past experience, your fresh start may lead to another disappointing cycle of wash, rinse, and repeat.

A powerful antidote to a weak start is a strong finish. And a great tool for that is a Personal Year-end Review.

The business case for a personal year-end review.

A year-end review can deliver personal insight.

The two most important reasons to conduct a year-end review are to celebrate and to learn.

Taking the time to celebrate your year, locks in your successes, builds confidence, and lets you savor the special moments. Further, reflecting on what you achieved can reveal the conditions that led to your success.

A review is also an opportunity to better understand your failures. It can show you what is holding you back and how to break through barriers.

When you go deep enough, you can see patterns in your thinking and behavior. You can challenge old stories that are no longer serving you. You can create new and empowering stories that propel you forward.

Reflecting on your year builds accountability.

A clear-eyed reflection on your year, helps you take personal responsibility for your life and can enhance your sense of agency.

It’s a motivating form of personal accountability.

I know when I write down my goals and commitments at the beginning of the year that I will read those words again in 12 months. I am conscious of how I will feel if I don’t keep my promises to myself.

This makes me more intentional about both the goals I set, and the supports and systems I put in place to achieve them.

A review offers perspective and a greater appreciation for what matters most.

I love the question, “Am I living the life I want to be living?”

You can’t hide from a question like that.

When you can answer yes, it offers an amazing feeling of gratitude and grace. It shows you that your little worries and complaints don’t matter so much in the big picture. It motivates you to keep doing what you are doing.

When the answer is no, it begs the question, why not? This can be an early warning sign that you’ve wandered off track and need to make small course corrections. Or it might mean it’s time for a more profound change. Either way, it’s a signal to get curious.

A personal year-end review can improve results.

There is no question that my results (or what I define as results) have improved since I adopted this annual ritual. The year-end review does not deliver the results, it simply holds me accountable for them. It motivates me to put a more consistent and sustained effort on the things that matter to me.

Have I nailed it? Nope.

Am I better at it? No question.

How to get the most from your year-end review.

There is no ideal process or single approach to an effective year-end review. It doesn’t have to be lengthy or complicated. It’s not about keeping score. It’s about learning and using what you learn to enhance your life and your impact.

I love this advice from author and productivity guru, Tiago Forte.

“It’s not how much you do; it’s how deep you go. Answering a single question with total honesty can yield more insights than hours of mindless collecting.”

But how do you go deeper? How do you get the most from your year-end review?

1. Ask Deeper Questions.

The most common questions I see in articles about year-end reviews fall into two camps. The “done well, do better” camp, and the “how am I using my time” camp. The questions look like this:

“What went well this year, what didn’t go well, what do I improve on next year?” or

“How did I spend my time? What would I do more of; what would I do less of?”

There is nothing wrong with these questions, but they are not likely to lead to powerful insight. They are more process-oriented; they will show you the things you already know.

If you are looking for deeper insight, ask deeper questions.

For example, instead of “What went well?” try,

“What were my favorite moments in 2024? What does that tell me about what matters to me and why?”

Instead of asking “What didn’t go well,” try:

“What was disappointing about the last year? Why am I disappointed with that?”

Then go deeper,

“How did I contribute to that? What might I be avoiding or not wanting to see here? What can I learn from that?”

2. Get out of your head.

The conditions for depth will be different for everyone.

Some of us need solitude and quiet so we can hear our own thoughts. Others do best when they take their deep questions on a run or a walk in nature. Still others need conversation with a trusted partner, friend, or coach.

For me, depth and insight often come best with a pen and a journal in my hand. Sometimes I need to write my thoughts to really understand them. If I’m really stuck, I might go to my whiteboard with a marker.

In her fascinating book, The Extended Mind, Annie Murphy Paul calls this “thinking outside the brain.” Researchers are discovering that human beings think, not only with their brains, but with their senses, bodies, and material from their external environment.

“By reaching beyond the brain to recruit these “extra-neural” resources, we are able to focus more intently, comprehend more deeply, and create more imaginatively.” Annie Murphy Paul, The Extended Mind

3. Lean into discomfort.

Sensations of discomfort can be your friend. As you reflect on your year, pay attention to any arising resistance, or an instinct to brush past something or to turn away. Get curious. Pay attention to your inner chatter and the places where it gets louder. These are all clues that you are diving below the water line.

You will know you are in the right territory when your insights surprise you and at the same time feel true. Or when you feel the inner turmoil give way to a sense of peace.

4. Be compassionate with yourself.

Self-compassion is an essential pre-condition to seeing yourself more clearly.

Think of it this way. Suppose you have two people in your life who offer you feedback.

One is a harsh critic. They use phrases like “you never,” “you always,” and “here’s what’s wrong with you.” They tell you that their harsh words are for your own good.

The other loves you unconditionally, always has your back, and will never let you go into the world with lettuce between your teeth. This is a friend who believes in you, sometimes more than you believe in yourself.

Whose feedback are you more likely to hear and trust?

One of the greatest barriers to growth is our harsh and unforgiving inner critic. Your inner judge is not telling you the truth; it is keeping you from it.

The dynamic works something like this.

There is something you need to face. It’s not pretty. Before you have a chance to reflect, your inner voice begins to berate you. Then you do what we all do in the face of harsh criticism; you get defensive. Because you can’t be with the abuse, you turn away from the very thing you need to see.

Being compassionate with yourself is not about letting yourself off the hook. It is creating the conditions for you to see your impact clearly and learn from it.

5. Don’t make it only about results.

“In the end, everyday moments matter more than big prizes. Tiny delights over big bright lights.” Shane Parrish, Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results

When you reflect on your year, reflect on the moments that mattered. The moments that your mind stored as precious. These are the things that make life worth living. Remembering and savoring them will amplify your gratitude and joy.

A Message for Paid Subscribers

Watch your inbox in the next 24 hours for

The Slow Sip Guide to Your Personal Year-end Review

This downloadable template offers a step-by-step guide on how to prepare for, review, and reflect on your year. It includes my favorite questions to guide your reflection and enable you to extract the insight you need for to set yourself up for an amazing 2025!

Not yet a paid subscriber?

If you upgrade before January 15, 2025, I will send the guide directly to your inbox.