Looking Back - Going Forward

As we move forward into a fresh, new year, though we may wish to leave pieces of our past behind, they trail in our wake as surely as a bride's train follows her down the isle to her new beginning. It's not only foolhardy to go forward without examining our past, it can be treacherous.

Now is the time to assess the last twelve months, to take full measure of our accomplishments, to seek the lessons from our missteps, to consider where we want to go from here, and how best to get there. Unless we take a moment to make a few observations, how can we know the direction in which we wish to proceed? Benjamin Franklin once said, "I have often looked at the sun without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting."

Take a few minutes to answer the following questions that I found over at "More In Your Life." I hope your answers will be helpful in charting your course.

Photo: BMA
1. How is where you are in life today different from where you were last January?

2. How are you different today, internally, than you were a year ago?

3. Of all you've experienced in the past year, what are you the most proud of?

4. What did you shy away from in 2008 that you wish you'd gone for?

5. What did you learn about yourself this year?

6. Who impacted your life the most this past year?

7. What are the most important lessons you learned in 2008 that you want to be conscious of in 2009?

8. What are you being called to next in your personal growth?

9. If you could create three things in your life the coming year, what would they be?

10. What parts of yourself will you need to call upon to create those three things with wild success in 2009?