5 brilliant benefits you'll get from reviewing your year

December, and the year is drawing to a close. Time to pause and look back at what's happened in our life over the past twelve months. I like doing that - do you?

I asked this question at a recent networking meeting, and only one out of 14 attendees said they did, too.

But I think that, if you don't review your year, you are missing out for not looking back. So, I thought that today I'd write about the five brilliant benefits you can gain from reviewing your year. 

And what are they?

There's of course that well-known exercise of looking at what you did, what worked, what didn't work and what you can learn from it. So, you can set yourself up perfectly for next year. Valuable stuff, that is.

And beyond that? Here come five additional brilliant benefits for you!

1. Get the bigger picture - see the truth

You'll get that from simply stopping, and stepping back in order to review and reflect. Not being right in the middle of stuff happening, and having to do a lot, or respond quickly. When you stop and step back, you see things with more distance and detachment, and you might well see them differently - in a wiser, truer, more accurate way.

2. Digest all that's happened - stay happy and healthy

We human beings, are a bit like our stomachs - we can't keep taking in lots of activity, impressions, or experiences without also taking time where nothing comes in, and all we do is digest what's happened so far. So, do stop and give yourself a chance to come down from being busy - and get reviewing and reflecting. It gives your nervous system, mind and soul a chance to make sense of events, catch up, sort things, rest, and, ultimately, stay healthy and happy!

3. Reflect - draw out your insights

Once you're feeling calmer, you're in the perfect place for reflecting. Pick any of my 55 cool questions for reviewing your year (http://livealifeyoulove.co.uk/year-review-questions) to help you with it. So you can draw out what it all means to you. How things fit together - or not. What you can learn from what you've done, or what you've been through. And how you can make your peace with it, if you need to.

4. Let things drop in - access your own wisdom

This is connected to the previous points. Quietening down and spending time reviewing and reflecting, will help you connect to your own wisdom - that place within yourself that knows what's right or wrong for you. Take this time to help you get clearer on what you have and what you want, and find your way to wiser actions and decisions.

5. Acknowledge, celebrate or commiserate - live a richer, more conscious life

This will prevent your year - and your life time - just whizzing past you in a flash without you noticing its richness, beauty, and joy - or its toughness, harshness and sadness. When we're busy and in doing-mode, this can easily happen. But losing the textures and colours of our life, will ultimately deaden us inside. Taking time to review your year - acknowledging, celebrating or commiserating its events - is a way of be(coming) truly conscious of your life, and enjoy it more!

Now:

Go on, have a bit of a review of your year:

Take some time out. Appreciate. Give credit - or take credit. Savour. Reminisce. Laugh. Cry. Tell stories. Celebrate. Share memories...

Because:

"It's your life - don't let it just pass you by,
whilst you're running from one thing to the next. 
Squeeeeeeze out as much juice as you can!"

And with my 55 cool questions for reviewing your year to prompt you, you've got no excuse not to!

Over to you now:

Do you review your year? And, if you do, how do you do it? I'd love to hear from you, if you care to share, let me know! 

Wishing you a peaceful, harmonious ending to 2016!