Each Landing Contains an Opportunity

Willet

Here you are, landing on the end of 2016.

So, before you take off into next year, let’s review what happened during your journey.

To do that, pretend your life is a business. Except you measure profit in terms of happiness. You invest in kindness. And you borrowed time to run your business.

Then imagine that the lender wants a report on how you used the time you had.

So what would you tell?

By the way, I’ve been writing Annual Reports on my life since 1999.

This has the benefits of: 1) Documenting history, 2) Revealing patterns, and 3) Facilitating planning.

If you prefer an informal approach, write a page describing the year, like an “executive summary.”

If you prefer a more comprehensive report, begin with questions such as:

1) What major events happened and how did you manage them?

2) What obstacles did you encounter and how did you respond to them?

3) What opportunities did you discover and how did you use them?

4) What numbers qualify your results and how do these numbers compare with what you expected?

Notice that these questions seek more than facts, they also invite analysis.

For example, I took less than half as many photos this year compared to last year. Now I’m analyzing the events plus my choices that caused this. And that leads to lessons and questions about what I’ll do next year.

Before you begin, there’s one more consideration. Imagine that the CEO of your business cares about you. So when writing this report, be both realistic and kind. Show compassion, give encouragement, and offer praise.

Keep up with Steve's work and sign-up for his newsletters on his website: www.stevekaye.com