2023 Exit Survey

Questions to ask yourself as this year comes to a close

We're on the other side of the big day in that special limbo between Christmas and New Years where no one really knows what day it is!

It's around this time of year that I like to do two things. The first is to write a list of 100 great things that happened over the year. I flick back through my journal and photos on my phone to hunt down and write down 100 things that made this year great.

It can be small things (making a batch of delicious blood orange gin) or it can be big things (visiting a new country). In fact, the smaller the better really—it helps keep me grateful for the little things in life that are so easy to forget about.

I'm about halfway through my list for this year and I really do encourage everyone to try this at least once. Finding 100 things to fill the list with is tough but that's kinda the point. It makes you appreciate the small things a lot more. This idea is definitely borrowed with love from Austin Kleon.

The second thing I like to do is reflect on the year has just passed. In preparation for the year ahead I think it's important to think about what went well and what you'd like to focus on going forward. Last year, a friend shared a list of questions they found from the We're Not Really Strangers newsletter. I liked them so much that I think I will use these as my year end questions from now on. Here’s the list:

A 2023 Exit Survey

1. What parts of yourself did you get to meet this year?

2. A memory from this year that you never want to forget

3. Where are you getting too comfortable? What would taking a risk look like?

4. What do you want to manifest in love next year?

5. Whose energy is easy to be around? Whose energy is hard to tolerate?

6. Fill in the blank: "I'll be upset with myself if I'm still ________ next year."

7. What did your bad days have in common this year? What stood out about your good days?

8. What's one thing you want to have done by this time next year? Big or small.

9. A very realistic change you can start today.

10. One thing you'd like to tell your future self.

I hope this list of questions will help you to make sense of this year and will allow you to discover something interesting.

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Happy new year!

SJF