Why Recap the Previous Year in an Annual Review?

RECAPPING THE PREVIOUS YEAR
The Good, Bad and Ugly

c2010, Vicki Hinze



“Why do you recap the previous year?” a friend asked recently, after reading a post where I said I do so every November.

I explained that if you don’t take stock in where you’ve been and self-evaluate, you’re missing opportunities to examine your life overall and the specifics in it. She then recited my rearview mirrors are small and windshields are large message, so I’m not sure I successfully made my point.

Bluntly put, you look back to assess what worked and what didn’t and determine why. Then you look forward to the path ahead.
When you don’t assess, you’re far more apt to make the same mistakes over and again. It’s akin to remembering the day you first realized gravity was stomping on your face. You’re not eager to relive it. Yet there is merit in assessing.

If you determined that you’re spending the lion’s share of your workday doing volunteer work for various organizations, which can be fulfilling but not provide what you need to sustain life, that’s important information.

If you learn that what you’re proposing to write next is going to deviate from reader expectations and land you in a “breach this trust and you might not be able to recover” position, that’s handy information to have before stepping into that sink hole.

If you discover that you’ve invested x amount of time in a project that has met with the same challenges, proving you’re at a turning point, that’s helpful to know in planning your future career strategy.

If you look at your goals list and determine you’ve taken positively no action to achieve any or some or most of those goals, then that assessment in which you discovered it becomes an invaluable insight on planning your next actions.

What if your goals change? We do, and our goals should too.

What if an organization to which you dedicate significant resources--time, effort, energy--changes? And your aims are no longer compatible? Isn’t there merit in grasping that?

We tend to work day-to-day. That’s normal. But we do need to stop and look at the bigger, more long-term picture on a regular basis to feel confident and sure that we are investing our precious resources wisely to achieve those things we consider most important.

If we don’t, then we must be prepared to pay the price for not doing so. That price, isn’t just wasted energy, effort and money. It’s life itself.

When you do your review, understand that they’re going to be things in it that you like, ones you don’t, and ones that have used something yourself on the head and asking what was I thinking. That too, is normal.

We are three dimensional people, and each dimension insists on its due. If any is neglected, then we’re like a three-legged stool with one leg sawed short. We wobble, we totter, we fall.

So our assessment should include all that pertains to us physically, emotionally, and spiritually. If we can look back at the previous year, assess frankly, and put our actions into perspective, then we can determine the length of her stool legs. And then we can determine what we must do to bring them into balance. It goes without saying, we accomplish more, feel better, and are better able to handle challenges that occur --- and they always do --- if we are balanced. This also gives us better odds of being content the next year because we have the insights necessary to incorporate those things needed to achieve balance.

During an annual assessment isn’t necessary. Many don’t give such things a thought until the end of their lives. Unfortunately, waiting until that point to do so greatly diminishes the odds of not suffering regret at what is left undone.

Some people, like me, review annually. Others receive monthly, and some even weekly. I think innately we determine what is apt to work best for us. For me, that’s annual.

Looking back, I agree that it isn’t a fun job to review the good, the bad, and ugly. But it is helpful, constructive, and it does more to assure that the next review is less painful and more productive. That’s the purpose and the pleasure and the benefit.

If you are content, and your life is sailing along smoothly, perhaps you’re one of the few that doesn’t need or want an annual assessment of your life. But if you’re like most of us, your life is a mixture of good and bad, and you would really enjoy doing what you can to assure that next year you see those scales weighing such matters leaning heavy on the side of good. If so, I heartily recommend doing an annual assessment of your life. The benefits are many, extending far beyond what I’ve discussed here.

Once you’ve done this, then you can put the past into its proper perspective. Into that rear view mirror, taking all you’ve learned forward with you. And that’s a very good reason to recap your previous year.❖