I love this time of year. There is something so cleansing about moving out of an old year and into a new one – and these journal prompts can help with just that.
Many of the courses and workbooks released at this time of year contain both a section to reflect on the previous year and a section to set goals and get excited for the new year. I didn’t create a section for the past year in the Magical 2017 Yearbook course because I wanted the course to focus purely on bringing in the wonderful things for the new year. I want the yearbook to be a guide for you through 2017 and I thought having notes about 2016 in there wasn’t necessary – and may even be counterproductive for some.
But I do think it’s important to make peace with the past, celebrate what you’ve achieved, and be honest about the things that didn’t work out. I don’t feel right going straight into the new year without some kind of ritual releasing the year that’s been.
Why? For me, it’s the feeling of awareness and a sense of closure. Awareness of what has happened this year, but more importantly, awareness about my feelings towards these things. For example, we still haven’t finished our tiny house build (but we are really close!) and that makes me a little disappointed. I don’t want to avoid this feeling, but rather make peace with it and use it to help me figure out how to make next year better.
So, with that in mind, I’ve created some journal prompts to get you thinking about the year that’s been. There are loads of great prompts online, I’ve just selected some of the ones I love and added a few of my own.
I hope these can guide you through a sort of closing ceremony for 2016, so you can welcome the new year with open arms.
Journal Prompts:
- What were the most significant events of the year past? List the top three.
- Describe 2016 in one sentence:
- This year I’m most grateful for…
- My biggest achievement this year was…
- This year I got really excited about…
- This year I was most inspired by…
- My greatest challenge this year was…
- I need forgive myself for…
- My biggest piece of unfinished business from this year is…
- The greatest lesson I’ve learned this year is…
- How have you grown as a person this past year? How are you different this year than last?
- This year I wish I had done more…
- I wish I had done less…
- What was the best way you used your time this past year?
- If you had more time to invest in this past year, what would you do with it?
- If I could redo 2016, I would…
- Write a letter to the you from the start of last year. What advice would you give yourself?
- If 2016 was a book, what would the title be? Name some of the chapters.
- Did you have a guiding word or guiding values for 2016? How did it serve you? How did it challenge you?
- The biggest gifts of 2016 were…
Be gentle with yourself when going through this, it can be tough if the past year has been a difficult one. I always find a cup of tea, some nice music and a candle, incense or essential oils are comforting.
Happy new year!
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