The 1985 movie and current Broadway hit, "Back to the Future," encapsulates the concept of time travel and the duality of looking both backward and forward. As we head into a new year, reviewing the past with a forward-looking perspective allows us to appreciate growth, learn from challenges, and approach the future with a sense of optimism and anticipation.
In other words, by intentionally reflecting on how far we’ve come, including the tough parts, we can increase our self-gratitude, our confidence in our ability to do hard things, and step into the next year feeling ready to bring more of our dreams to life.
This month, think about Doc’s question to Marty McFly: “There’s that word again, ‘heavy.’ Why are things so heavy in the future?”
Then ask yourself:
- Looking back on the past year, what are some of the challenging moments that your brain is glossing over and trying to forget? Can you briefly bring them to mind and thank yourself for all the work you’ve done to get through these difficult times, including the hard market?
- If you could time travel to December 2022 and sit down with yourself, what would your old self say? What would they be excited to learn about your career at the end of 2023? What have you learned about your career and life in this past year?
- What things do you feel proud of this past year? What skills have you cultivated? What hard lessons have you learned? How can you celebrate all of this as you wrap up the year?
- What are your hopes, goals, and visions for this next year, for 2024? What do you hope to experience? To learn?
Let these questions help fill you with a sense of hope and encouragement as we enter the new year and echo Doc: “If my calculations are correct [about the New Year], when this baby hits 88 miles per hour, you're gonna see some seriously great stuff!”