For my final blog of 2023, I thought I would reflect on this crazy year.
I used inspiration from my old bullet journal and Pinterest to work out questions I wanted to answer about 2023. Next week, I will be sharing my intentions for 2024, as my blog will be posted on New Year's Day!
I am a firm believer in reflecting on things, as long as once you have done that, you let them go. I used to find this incredibly difficult, but the more I reflect, the easier it becomes to accept it can not be changed and to move forward.
This year was a rollercoaster for many reasons. My mental health took a hit as a result. Now, I am prioritising different things than I was at the start of 2023, and taking steps to ensure the world around me doesn't cause me to feel so overwhelmed.
I channelled the successes, the stresses, the fun, and the chaos into my reflection. It was incredibly cathartic, and I can now go into 2024 thinking New Year, Next Chapter.
2023 Reflections
When I started this log, I used questions from previous reflective logs and Pinterest to guide my thoughts about this year. I also stuck to a maximum of three answers to ensure I was focused and didn't go off topic (as I can do when reflecting).
Successes of 2023
I focused on the top three successes of 2023. I found this surprisingly hard. Sometimes, we focus so much on the challenges we have faced that we forget the positives. This was the main reason I started with the successes, to begin with the highs.
In your own reflections, if you feel the need to do this yourself, choose questions that work for you. As with most bullet journal logs, they are personal because you create them, so embrace that.
Changes for 2024
This section is the start of my intentions for 2024 and will help build my log for next week's blog.
It is important to note that you don't have to follow the crowds and think of resolutions for next year. Sometimes, just making it to next year is enough.
Time Well Spent
This was easy to think about, but it was especially hard to narrow down to a top three! In amongst my struggles this year, there have been many high points, so only a snippet is covered here.
However, the beauty of a bullet journal means I can go back and look through the entire year in more detail if I want to at another point.
Lessons Learnt from 2023
I always enjoy reflecting back on the lessons a year has taught me. Mistakes help us grow into better people. No one is perfect.
I also somehow ended up creating one sentence quotes to summarise the lessons 2023 has taught me. Again, I can use these as stepping stones for my 2024 intentions.
How to make next year better?
This question had me sitting staring at my log for quite a while. It is hard to know how to make your year better when it hasn't even started yet!
I like the idea that I can start optimistically putting my intentions out there into the universe. Whether anything comes of these thoughts by this time next year, we will just have to wait and see!
Quote for the year
No one is surprised that I included a quote for the year. Quotes are my thing. The amount of time I spent scrolling through my inspirational quote board on Pinterest to find one that fitted how I felt about 2023 was insane. My "I can do this log in an hour" plan went out the window at this point.
However, the end result with a quote from one of my favourite artists felt very fitting.
So, as we head into the final week of 2023, I will leave you with my quote of the year by Frida Khalo:
At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can.
See you in 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣4️⃣
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