|
Don’t sleepwalk into 2026 like most people.
Of course, that starts with a mental checklist of “New Year’s Resolutions” that will be abandoned by January 15th. Heck, if you can’t even write your goals on a piece of paper, let me save you the drama: You will fail.
Don’t be like most people. I’m guessing YOU ARE NOT.
Every moment you stand at the precipice. Most people? They see that precipice only on December 31st, or a few days before this calendar day. It is the blurry line between what was and what could be.
You know the proverb: If you want to change your life, you have to change your choices, or ultimately, you change nothing.
Newsflash: Most people don’t even know what choices they’re making. They are NPCs in their own game.
Are you?
You can’t change the GPS destination if you don’t know your current coordinates.
As we end 2025, here are two thought experiments—diagnostic tools designed to show you exactly where you stand, and where to proceed.
Thought Experiment #1:
The 2025 Autopsy
Your 2025 is nearly dead. And every year needs an autopsy. Do you actually self-reflect? I don’t mean staring out a window feeling sorry for yourself as a shiny Porsche drives by. I mean looking at the data—the tangible outcomes your choices have wrought, or won.
Here are 10 questions to expose the reality that lurks beneath. The year end/beginning marks the line between what was and what could be. Here are some questions that can help you assess how your year went.
Be honest. Lying to me is irrelevant. Changes nothing. Lying to yourself is another nail in your regret-lined coffin.
Simply copy and answer, let me know how things went.
- What was your biggest triumph? Was there several, or none? Why?
- What was your biggest struggle? Did you overcome it? If not, how can you change it?
- What new habits did you form, if any?
- Are you better off financially at the end of 2025, versus the end of 2024? What worked, and didn’t?
- Are you better off physically and mentally? What worked, or went off the rails?
- Do you have any regrets, and if so, what can you do in 2025 to ensure that regret doesn’t hold?
- Did you learn anything new? Why or why not?
- How have the relationships in your life evolved? Improved? Worsened?
- What triggered negative emotions, such as guilt, anger, sadness, or disappointment?
- What small joys or moments made your days brighter?