It feels like very few people take seriously the annual, media-driven rush to New Year resolutions – why would we?! Settling down to take stock of the year that’s just ended, reflecting on what happened, seeking for insight into what worked well, what was challenging, gained or lost and making new decisions accordingly – that’s a completely different thing.
It’s good to do this, and even better to mix it up a bit. If you follow Kristen Lisanti (mentioned here before) you’ll have received from her a one-page prompt to reflection that I found to be so interesting I’d like to share it here. First, because as I read through the deceptively simple-looking prompts I was taken aback to find how little I could properly recall of the whole year, and secondly because once I did settle down with last year’s diary, and really work through it, it was a truly engaging, complex and heartening experience.
She first asks ‘What were you dreaming of, worried about, committed to (at the start of 2023)?’ and then goes on to offer these short and powerful prompts:
During 2023
I was surprised by_____________________________________________________
I was challenged by____________________________________________________
I am grateful for________________________________________________________
I dedicated time to _____________________________________________________
I wish I’d made time for _________________________________________________
I struggled when _______________________________________________________
I was at ease when ____________________________________________________
I learned _____________________________________________________________
I’m proud of __________________________________________________________
I celebrate ___________________________________________________________
Well. The more I thought about these, and found answers buried in the pages (yes, proper old-school paper!) of my 2023 diary, the more gems were unearthed. I felt I was mining for gold. Because this took me to a place of remembering so much that I do feel grateful for, can feel proud of, really do celebrate (and you’ll notice that that’s how it ends in her list here, with prompts for deep appreciation of the year, how very Thinking Environment). And I chose this illustration* because the rocks in the foreground are such a great metaphor for how we tend to focus on the difficult stuff more easily, which blocks mental access to what was much larger and more significant.
Before that came some key perceptions about what I gave my time to, what I wish I’d made more time for, where I struggled – all of which does help greatly in thinking about 2024. I notice how much time I dedicated to the ongoing development of Thinking Environment practitioners in Ireland, something that I also celebrate and feel proud of (though the achievement is all theirs). I am deeply grateful for my ‘hinterland’ of Thinking Environment friends and colleagues, many of whom will be reading this – thank you for being part of my life.
I learned that spending many hours online even in this beautiful work can have a seriously debilitating effect on me, both physically and mentally, which is why I am now suggesting 1-2-1 phone calls rather than automatically booking zoom sessions for 2024. Also very old-school! I do love the immediacy of it, the freedom to move, even walk outside with my phonee (new word?) comfortably with me, actually in my head via earbuds.
It’s not all plain sailing, this reflection business – I’ve also been surprised by remembering some poor quality decisions that led to actions I regretted because the consequences have been tiresome and time-consuming to fix – you’d think I didn’t know about assumptions…
And really challenged by some things too personal to share here, but very important to notice and work around.
I do wish I’d made even more time to spend with my young grandchildren, so that’s a big marker for this year. I learned so much from time spent both offering the Thinking Environment programmes and reflecting on them, especially when after a long gap of almost three years the TTT Faculty gathered for two full days with Nancy in Henley in October, and we could be face-to-face and mind-to-mind with each other, reconnecting through discovery, discussion and a lot of fun. Laughter being one of the best thinking enhancers of all…
This is the extra prompt that I would add here –
I discovered_________________________________________________________________________________
I discovered a new passion for teaching Thinking Partnership Teachers, so I’m offering that again in May and June, in person. I discovered the extraordinary Barbara Hepworth and her home and garden in St Ives, an experience that was truly uplifting and makes me ask who/ what else is there to find that’s in the open air rather that in galleries. (suggestions very welcome). Anthony Gormley comes to mind…
I discovered that abandoning Twitter is liberating, and deleting Instagram and news media from my phone equally so in a different way. Less is definitely more when it comes to apps, which now live exclusively on the iPad. And I discovered that I’m still getting in my own way when it comes to writing down everything I know about the Thinking Environment and will be cracking on with that during 2024!
What did you discover during 2023 that’s going to make a difference to how you shape 2024? You certainly don’t have to tell me, but I would love to know!