Have you ever wondered how to summarize the year, and also why it’s necessary to do so and how important this question is? In this case, the question “Why?” is key.
Why Summarize the Year?
When we ask ourselves “Why summarize the year?”, we realize that this is the first crucial step before we can even understand how to approach summarizing in the right way. It’s very important to figure out why we’re doing this. For each person, the answer to this question can be completely different.
- Some people want to summarize the year so they can feel emotionally that they had a great year.
- Some want to summarize the year to post it on social media and highlight the significance of their events.
- Some summarize the year to see if they achieved all the goals they set at the beginning of the year.
- And some, perhaps, summarize the year to plan for the next one, transitioning from summarizing to planning.
Everyone will have their own individual answer to this question, and that forms the fundamental basis because it’s precisely the “Why?” that determines how we will work with our summaries, how we will perceive the results of the past year, and what we will plan for the future.
Often people live without understanding the reasons for their actions, without knowing why they do certain things or make certain purchases or decisions. Even in business, which many people look to as an example, 90% of individuals—maybe even more—do not understand their true goal: why they are doing business in the first place. That’s exactly the moment when you need to be aware of why you’re doing something before summarizing.
Summarizing the Year: How Do You Know What to Write?
I, too, have summarized the year many times, and each time my goals and approaches were different. Sometimes I did it because it was an assignment given to me in a training session, and sometimes because I wanted to reflect on the past year and plan for the new one. In any case, it’s important to understand which events matter to you and which do not.
For me, summarizing the year is never just a list of events. Very often, when a person summarizes, they want to enter a state where events become exalted, and that’s when they start to take on importance, even though many other events may be no less significant.
It’s important not to fixate on one moment as the main event of the year. For example, I realized I could talk for hours about the events that happened over the year. But can we single out something particularly important or less important?
For me, the year was not just a collection of events; it was an internal process. This year, I started living in a new place, and my children started going to new schools, which are important milestones for me.
But the importance lies in how I experienced these moments, how involved I was in the process, how much time I spent with my family. Events themselves are not always significant on their own; it’s how you live through them that matters.
How to Make Every Day Meaningful?
The realization that every event can be meaningful comes through awareness. It’s important to treat each day as important and unique. It doesn’t matter whether something was an “epoch-making” event or not. Everything that happens in life brings a certain meaning. For me, for instance, even small moments can be important—time spent with my children, a hike in the mountains with a friend, or new business projects. All of that makes up my life.
I don’t need to categorize events as important or unimportant. I see each event as part of my journey. That doesn’t mean I don’t make plans or strive for goals. On the contrary, I find meaning in making each day interesting and fulfilling.
It’s very important to avoid an exalted attitude toward events. Even the strongest emotions do not make an event significant by themselves. It’s important not to single out moments as the most important, but simply to perceive them as part of life. This mindset allows you to live with the sense that everything that happens has value.
Every event is part of life, and nothing is less important than anything else. Realizing that every event brings value changes your perception of life. It helps you see life as a whole rather than through the prism of separate, standout moments.
Summarizing the year is a process that should be individualized for each person. We shouldn’t focus on other people’s standards and evaluations. It’s important to listen to yourself and understand what matters to you. Every day is your life, and that is where true value lies.
Try to hear yourself, not what’s being broadcast around you. Only you can make every moment of your life feel like real life.
If you want to boost your self-awareness and start seeing every day as significant, I recommend the practice I described in one of my videos on my channel. (Link below) It’s a powerful tool for deep observation of yourself and everything happening around you.