2013 year end reflection questions

on dec 31, my husband and i went to philz coffee to get one last cup (for me) and to spend a couple hours reflecting on the past year. we spent about two hours running through the following exercises that i pulled together, inspired by some online resources that i can't remember anymore. oops. hope this is helpful to you, as it was to us. 

one

take a minute to deeply breathe in & out

pray and ask God to be a part of your day

two

take 10 minutes to write down all the things you’re grateful for

*note: this time felt short! i would spend ~15 minutes next time

three

take 45 minutes to answer any or all of the questions below:

• what are you proud of? 
• what do you wish you did better on? 
• what did you release? what still feels incomplete? 
• what were your top 5 most significant events this year?
• what were some fun things you did this year? 
• what brought you joy? 
• how am i different this year than last? 
• if you had to pick one word to describe 2013, what would it be? 
• how did your body change this year? 
• what did you learn about your body? 
• what was the hardest thing to let go of? 
• when did you feel most connected to God? 
• what lessons did you learn? 
• are there people you wish you invested more time in? why? 
• i felt most alive when…
• i felt most sucked-out-of-life when…

four

take 10 minutes to list all the things you’d like to let go of. 

say “thank you” to each thing on your list & then say “bon voyage” to each item.

five

take a few minutes to breathe in & out. sit up straight, close your eyes, and focus on each breath. this is a time to transition 

six

take 15-20 minutes to reflect on the upcoming year:

• name your intentions for the next year
• what do you desire for this upcoming year? (anything goes! be specific!) (emotionally, mentally, physically, sexually, relationally, spiritually, in your relationship(s)….)
• what word comes to mind when you think of 2014? 

seven

take 20 minutes to write yourself a letter that you’ll open december 31st, 2014. 

tell yourself what you hope for. 

*note: it would've been interesting to instead, write a letter to the other person.

eight

look at each other, and hold a gaze for one minute. express all the gratitude and love you possibly can, and express it through your eyes. no words. then end with an embrace.

*note: i set a timer for the minute, and this felt entirely too short! i would recommend 3 minutes. 

the end.