This year, I plan to listen to 52 podcast episodes, read 12 books and maintain 1 blog. I plan to share all this amazing wisdom for our tender moments here. Enjoy!!
Podcast: On Purpose with Jay Shetty
Episode: 7 Powerful Questions to Successfully Reflect on 2022 & End the Year with Confidence
Date: 12-16-2022
I want to support people on a journey of reconnection, reconnection with the Self. I want people to leave my office with a little more understanding of who they are, a little more compassion for what they’ve endured and a little closer to finding the answers they seek. I am drawn to podcast episodes like this because they align deeply with my beliefs and mission in my clinical work. Jay Shetty’s On Purpose Podcast is full of wisdom and each episode I listen to, I walk away with a deeper understanding of myself and others. This episode is no different. There are seven questions Shetty poses for reflection and one that resonated the most with me was the following:
What is a challenge you faced this year and what did you learn from that challenge?
I really like this two-part question for a few reasons. I think when we experience a personal or professional challenge and get to the other side of that, we brush ourselves off and forge ahead. Rarely do we take time to pause and reflect on how we navigated that challenge. What internal and external resources did we tap into? Was it the advice of a trusted friend or the guidance from a mentor? Was it our grit, tenacity, or determination? Was it a creative gift and capacity to think outside the box or patience and compassion? I think if we can take time to acknowledge and experience what within us helped us to navigate this hard thing, perhaps the next hard thing will be a little softer.
The second part of this question reminds us to consider what we learned. As Julia Kristina states:
“There is no such thing as failure. You either get the outcome you wanted or the lesson you needed.”
As I reflect on my challenges from last year, when I was able to keep this perspective, I went from wallowing in shame to wondering with curiosity and compassion. I had a few experiences this last year that didn’t go as I’d hoped, I could flounder in a sea of shame, or I could find my way to shore and see things with a different perspective. What did this experience teach me? What did your hard experiences teach you?
There are other questions that Shetty poses throughout the episode and although we are a week into the New Year, I don’t think it’s ever too late to deepen our understanding of ourselves.
“Reflective thinking turns experience into insight.” ~John C. Maxwell
Our experiences can be pathways that offer insight and wisdom. We just need to create intentional time and space to open those reflective doors. I hope this episode allows you to do just that.