The Secret of Learning from the Past

Are you like me? It’s that time of the year I get somewhere quiet or go on a long walk to pause and reflect. I look closer and observe some of the smallest things around me, things that I probably rushed by in the past year.

I look at God’s creation. I think that…I’m truly blessed. I’m very grateful.

“All of us are watchers – of television, of time clocks, of traffic on the freeway – but few are observers. Everyone is looking, not many are seeing.” – Peter M. Leschak

Are you seeing? Or are you merely looking? People who find a place to intentionally pause and reflect are the few who see.

We have all heard that “experience is the best teacher”. However, experience is NOT the best teacher…Evaluated experience is!

When you pause and reflect, it has the potential to change your life. It means more than just slowing down to “smell the roses”. It means taking time to stop and really figure them out.

This is the time of the year I ask myself…“Where have I been?” and “Where am I now?”

And when I look back this past year, I’m amazed how far I have come. In those small, baby-step moments, it seemed to go “as slow as molasses”.

But I learned so much by being more patient and taking one-step at a time. Making one huge leap forward, (like I really wanted to do), would have robbed me of the true value of what I learned.

Observation: It is interesting that each small step I took revealed more learning and insight which I needed to know to move forward and ultimately succeed in my endeavor.

Every person can learn so much about themselves by reflecting on seven major areas of their life.

Take time to pause and reflect on the past year of what did you accomplish? Where did you go? How did you feel? Who did you encounter?

Then, rate your year in each area below, with 1 being low, 5 being average, and 10 high (as measured against your potential or opportunity).

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Understanding your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go…they merely define where you start.

I include a convenient self-evaluation form for the seven areas listed above in my newly redesigned Goal Setting Workbook. You can download my popular Goal Setting Workbook FREE by clicking here.

Even if you have previously downloaded my earlier version of the workbook, feel free to click the above link and download the new workbook to use now.

Could you share about how you paused and reflected over your past year? What did you learn? Please leave a comment by clicking here.