Before the New Year Resolution, A little bit of Old Year Introspection






Its 31st December again, and New Year Resolutions are in vogue! But then, this is so much like performance management systems in companies. Mostly it’s a documentation exercise. And this scheme of setting New Year Resolutions is supposed to be even more customized, precise and acceptable. How do we know if it’s working? The answer lies in having an ‘Old year Introspection’ exercise. This is designed to purge out the blocks and hurdles which creep in and prevent us from living life to its fullest.
And in this post I try to suggest a framework for this purpose. While it may sound strange, it does work. It’s a simple format and you may require only 10 minutes carrying out this exercise. Remember, don’t fake it and don’t get defensive with your-self.
THE INTROSPECTION MATRIX:
Top 5
Top 3
Top 5 Goals/Resolutions you had for 2014:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
REASONS:
1)
2)
3)
Top 5 Achievements of 2014:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
ENABLERS:
1)
2)
3)
Top 5 Disappointments of 2014:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
HURDLES:
1)
2)
3)
RESIDUAL GOALS of 2014
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
ACTIONABLES:
1)
2)
3)
User Guidelines:
1)      Do not fabricate facts or sound nice, be brutally frank. It’s a self-evaluation exercise.
2)      Apply the ‘test of logic’ when in doubt.
3)      The maximum time you should devote to this exercise is 20 minutes.
4)      Follow-up this exercise with a ‘New Year Resolution’.
5)      Have no regrets. Regrets don’t yield results.

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