Topic of the day: Evaluate your year, what you planned and what was achieved

The end of the year is usually a time when people are more emotional, feeling that a lot have happened throughout these last 365 days, although they, in general, don’t see things in perspective like it should be. In my opinion, this is the perfect time for evaluating what you have achieved at this moment in various aspects, such as personal, social and professional life.

The nostalgic moment that accompanies this period between December and beginning of January can be used as a trigger to take an overall look and put the priorities first. By using this approach, you may end up finding that some of the best accomplishments were not planned in detail, or things changed for the better during the way. If they are that remarkable, then you should keep them working for the next year.

You might have met new people that you didn’t expect and they are now part of your social life. Or you strengthened old relationships that needed some polishing. Perhaps you started a new relationship and now you are dedicating more time for this loved one. When you think about those great moments you had together with people this year, you are likely to continue nurturing these relationships. If some relationships are not as preserved as you would like it to be, then take a look at what you could have done better or what you postponed and then got lost in time.

Your professional life also needs a good look and evaluation in order to clean up the constant overload and mess that the modern work can bring. In my case, I was planning to do volunteering work in Laos and after finishing the planned 8 weeks, it was simply amazing. The work I’ve done there, the people I’ve met and the cultural aspects that I incorporated are unforgettable experiences that shaped my personality. I started planning to do this volunteer work in October last year and it ended up exceeding my expectations.

Another great professional accomplishment for me this year was my master of science in renewable energy which I started in Hanze University. I am learning so much in such a short period. The people I met here are extraordinary, which makes the journey easier. I started planning this master in August/2015, and now I’m almost finishing the first semester already. This type of big achievements I wouldn’t have accomplished if I hadn’t thoroughly planned it.

And talking about big dreams, I have been living in different places since last year and this year I realized a dream of living in New Zealand. It was 3 intense months in which, besides practicing mountain biking (my favorite sport) I even wrote a book!

Since I finished the Cambridge English Course in December last year, I started writing quite regularly. It’s something that I hadn’t really planned but after commencing, I just kept going and I’m already doing this for one year. You can do whatever you set yourself to do. It doesn’t have to be something really big that is out of your hands. But if it’s that big, break it into small steps and take one at a time.

If you haven’t done yet, you should take a look at the last article that I wrote about “The next step of your journey” . There I talk about creating a future based on your deepest desires and put the main goals ahead of your journey.

Actually, the best things that you can achieve are the things that you feel you have to do. They may not be so clear at the beginning but the path becomes clearer when you get through. Even if you don’t know exactly how to start, remember that you have a lot of resources nowadays: you can talk to people; you can search online about the subject or you can enroll in an online course, for example. You can even join groups for the things that you want to start but have been procrastinating. A group provides mutual encouragement which makes a huge difference. Soon you’ll feel like part of a community doing what you couldn’t start by yourself. I think this is my best advice

Don’t forget to keep the best people around you. Make a list (it can be mentally) of the people that you enjoyed most sharing your time with. These are the people that are really making a difference for you. Probably it is mutual and they would like to have you on their side as well.

When you begin the celebration season of Christmas and New Year’s Eve, if you have already done this evaluation, you will probably have more reasons to celebrate and the joy of the moment can be complete. That’s all for today.