Reset, Reflect, Renew: Your Year-End Guide

Do you still make New Year’s resolutions? Maybe you’re already planning to start a new diet, finally get your finances in order, or launch that project you’ve been putting off. Perhaps you’ve committed to reading at least one book a month or exercising three times a week. Most of us have been there, and some of you may be in the process right now of figuring out what your 2026 resolutions might be.

I’d like to propose another option. One that doesn’t have to replace your resolutions, but could be a more helpful, inspiring, and productive way to spend your time as the clock ticks down the final days, hours, and minutes of 2025. Before making commitments to yourself for the new year, why not spend some time doing your own 2025 retrospective?

This is a common practice across many segments of society including business, culture, media, and faith traditions.

For example:

• Software and tech companies that use Agile practices often run retrospectives modeled on sprint reviews but scaled to cover an entire year.

• Many HR and culture-focused organizations encourage annual retrospectives to reconnect teams, celebrate impact, and document lessons learned.

• Media companies publish annual retrospectives highlighting movies, music, viral trends, and celebrity moments.

• Encyclopaedia Britannica (yes, it still exists!) produces a “Year in Review” that blends pop culture with politics, global events, and technology.

• Time Magazine selects a Person of the Year which they define as an individual, group, idea, or object that “for better or worse… has done the most to influence the events of the year.”

• Many faith communities conduct year-end reflections, gratitude rituals, or “watchnight services” to mark transition and renewal.

These reflections have key aspects in common. They help groups and individuals not just remember events, but share emotions of joy, grief, and resilience. The process is cathartic, offering perspective, motivation, and connection. They reinforce what matters most and provide psychological closure. It’s like pressing the RESET button so you can begin the new year renewed and refreshed. Carry forward what you’d like and leave the rest behind.

So perhaps instead of diving straight into setting your goals for the new year, what if you first took the time to bring closure to the year we’re leaving behind? Give yourself space to process what happened over the entire year, not just the last few months. Recognize what you’ve achieved, what you’ve learned, and how you’ve grown. Decide what you want to take forward with you and what you want to leave behind.

Practical Ideas for Your Own Retrospective

Here are some approaches organized by effort level, from simple to more involved. See what resonates with you.

🌱 Simple & Quick

For those who want something light but meaningful:

Three Questions Journal

• Write down your answers to these questions: What am I proud of this year? What challenged me? What do I want to carry forward?

• This can take as little as 15 minutes but creates clarity and closure.

Gratitude List

• Note 10 things you’re grateful for from the year - big or small.

• This anchors your retrospective in positivity.

  Photo Scroll Reflection

• Scroll through your phone’s photos from the year and pick 5 that represent key moments.

• Reflect on why they mattered.

🌿 Moderate Rituals

For those who want a little more structure:

Timeline Mapping

• Draw a line across a page and mark major events, highs, and lows for the past year.

• Reflect on patterns: Where did energy flow? What themes emerged?

  Stop/Start/Continue Exercise

• List what you want to stop doing, start doing, and continue doing in the new year.

• Simple but actionable, and it provides clarity.

  Letter to Self

• Write a letter to your future self about what you learned this year.

• Seal it and open it next December.

🌳 Deep & Involved Rituals

For those who want to make it a full ritual or ceremony:

Personal Retreat Day

• Dedicate a full day to reflection: journaling, walking in nature, meditating, and reviewing your year.

• End with a vision board or intention-setting ritual.

  Symbolic Release & Renewal

• Write down your regrets or challenges on slips of paper and safely burn or shred them.

• Then write intentions for the new year and place them somewhere visible.

  Creative Expression

• Paint, compose music, or craft something that represents your year.

• Use art as a way to process and honor your journey.

  Community Circle

• Gather trusted friends or colleagues for a shared retrospective.

• Each person shares highlights, lessons, and intentions.

• This builds connection and accountability.

These personalized year-end retrospectives are rituals of reflection and renewal. There’s no single “right” way to this. Just choose the approach that resonates with you and give it a try. This doesn’t have to replace setting New Year’s resolutions, but you may find that having a formal way to reflect on and close out the past year sets you up for a more informed and intentional set of resolutions for the year to come.

Whatever this past year has meant to you, I hope you can find the positives to carry forward and build upon in the coming year. Keep growing, keep learning, and keep joy in your heart.

Happy New Year!