“We do not learn from experience...we learn from reflecting on experience.” ― John Dewey

It's hard to believe that 2024 is already coming to a close.

The end of the calendar year presents us with a unique and valuable opportunity: To reflect on the year that was and plan for the year that will be.

In our rush to look forward, it's easy to glaze over the former and focus on the latter—but a failure to reflect will eventually result in a failure to grow.

I started conducting a Personal Annual Review over ten years ago.

It has been a transformative exercise—one that has had an outsized impact on my personal progress and growth.

Today's piece shares the structure for my Personal Annual Review.

I hope that it will spark you to conduct your own before year-end, as I know you will gain incredible value from the exercise.

ANNOUNCEMENT: I'm hosting a Personal Annual Review workshop on December 16, where I'll be going deeper on the process, sharing my own reflections, and answering questions. Attendees will receive the 2024 Personal Annual Review E-Book, which can be used to follow along and complete your own exercise before the end of the year. The event will be live and recorded for all registered guests.

To register for the special event, all you have to do is preorder one copy of my book and submit your information and order number here!

Register for the Live Workshop!

Without further ado, let's dive in...

Here are the 7 simple questions that may change your life:

Question 1: What did I change my mind on this year?

I used to assume that the most successful people had all the answers—that they just knew more than the rest of us.

But as I spent more time around these people, I came to realize this was wrong.

The most successful people don't have the right answers—they ask the right questions.

They realize that finding the truth is much more important than being right.

In fact, they legitimately enjoy being wrong. They lean into the feeling of being an embarrassing beginner. They embrace new information as "software updates" to their brain.

The Personal Annual Review starts with that core insight in mind:

• What did I change my mind on in 2024?
• What "software updates" did I have this year?

To paraphrase Mark Twain, what did I know for sure that just ain't so?

Remember: If you can't think of anything, that's a bad thing...

Question 2: What created energy this year?

I have a framework I call the Energy Calendar:

In simple terms, the idea is that you reflect on your calendar from a day or week and color code the events according to whether they created energy (green), drained energy (red), or were neutral (yellow).

The Energy Calendar is a great, visual way to course correct on a weekly or monthly basis if there are specific activities that are highly positive or negative for your energy.

This question asks you to reflect on your calendars on a macro scale:

• Review your calendars from the year.
• What activities, people, or projects consistently created energy in my life?
• Write them down.
• Did I spend ample time on these Energy Creators or did they get neglected?

Goal: Spend more time on these in 2025.

Question 3: What drained energy this year?

This question asks you to continue your calendar reflection, but with an inverted focus:

• Review your calendars from the year.
• What activities, people, or projects consistently drained energy from my life?
• Write them down.
• Did I allow the Energy Drainers to persist or did I manage them in real time?

Goal: Spend less time on these in 2025.

Question 4: What were the boat anchors in my life?

Boat anchors are people, mindsets, and actions that hold you back from your potential. You're trying to push, full speed ahead, but they literally create a drag on your life.

Boat anchors include:

• People who belittle, put down, or diminish your accomplishments. Who laugh at your ambition and tell you to be more realistic. Who harm the quality of your environment through negativity and pessimism.
• Self-limiting beliefs and stories.
• Self-sabotaging behaviors.
• Bad habits that cut into your growth.

This question asks you to identify what boat anchors existed in your life.

Goal: Eliminate or minimize the energy you give them in 2025.

Question 5: What did I not do because of fear?

“We suffer more in imagination than in reality.” — Seneca

One thing I've learned: Sometimes you don't give your best effort because you're afraid of what will happen if you do give it your all and still fail.

But that self-protection can quickly become self-rejection.

The thing you fear the most is often the thing you most need to do.

This question forces you to reflect on your fear and confront it. Deconstruct the fears that held you back:

• What was the downside if I had taken action?
• What was the upside if I had taken action?

Goal: Get closer to your fears in 2025.

Question 6: What were my greatest hits and worst misses this year?

Your natural bias skews how you see your year:

• The optimist sees all hits.
• The pessimist sees all misses.

This question's objective is to take a balanced view: Write down your hits and your misses.

Reflect on why the hits hit and the misses missed.

Question 7: What did I learn this year?

“When you stop learning you start dying." — Albert Einstein

It's easy to lose sight of your progress and growth when you live in the trenches. This question requires you to zoom out and reclaim your perspective.

Take your time on this one. Reflect on the other questions from the exercise.

Write down what you've learned.

Conducting Your Personal Annual Review

My 7 question Personal Annual Review:

1. What did I change my mind on this year?
2. What created energy this year?
3. What drained energy this year?
4. What were the boat anchors in my life?
5. What did I not do because of fear?
6. What were my greatest hits and worst misses?
7. What did I learn this year?

The Personal Annual Review is a transformative exercise. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

To go deeper, register to join the Personal Annual Review workshop I'm hosting on December 16. I'll be going deeper on the process, sharing my own reflections, and answering questions on the exercise and more. Attendees will also receive the 2024 Personal Annual Review E-Book, which can be used to follow along and complete your own exercise before the end of the year. The event will be live and recorded for all registered guests.

To register for the event, all you have to do is preorder one copy of my book and submit your information and order number here!

Register for the Live Workshop!