A Practice: 11 Questions to Close Out the Year & Welcome 2023
What has 2022 brought for you? The end of year and start of the new year creates a perfect moment to pause for reflection.
Give yourself permission and make time to look back at your year and look forward to the one ahead. I offer these 11 Questions or ways to inquire about what’s present for you as you close the year and start 2023.
This year’s inquiries are rooted in the idea of what’s called Polarity Management, which suggests that answers are rarely either/or and rather are more often an integrated mix of the good of opposite poles.
It asks us to challenge how we often think—that life is either this OR that. Yet, life is often more about the AND. What if the answer lies in this AND that?
Both are possible. Explore this AND that for yourself as you close 2022 and start 2023. Use the questions below. While I suggest answering these questions in a journal with your favorite beverage nearby, if you prefer you can also get a template download or write in the Google doc for easy note taking here.
Here’s to creating space for whatever is needed in the moment and all the possibility that’s calling to you for the new year!
“The best way to predict your future is to create it.” ― Abraham Lincoln
Start with these inquiries around… This AND That!
Finishing power
Get done what you want to get done. In your remaining year-end time, what do you have energy and desire to complete?
Starting power
Focus your energy. Where do you want to put your attention at the start of the year, getting off the blocks?
SLOW DOWN
Slow down your pace. When and where would you like to slow down time? When do you want to be really present? What would allow you to really slow it down? When does a slow pace work for you?
SPEED UP
Speed up your pace. When does a faster pace work for you? Where do you want to get energized? Or, where do you want to not waste time? When does a fast pace work for you?
LAUGHTER
Make yourself laugh. Where and when might you want to have fun?
COMFORT
Comfort yourself. Where and when might you desire a comforting experience?
CELEBRATE
Hooray! What do you want to celebrate?
GRIEVE
Honor or let go. What might you need to grieve?
GRATEFUL TO SELF
Give thanks. For what do you want to acknowledge yourself?
GRATEFUL TO OTHERS
Give thanks. For what do you want to acknowledge others?
GIVE
Contribute. What are you being called to contribute next? What impact do you want to have?
GET
Reward. What would you like to get as a personal reward? What do you feel like you’ve earned?
Gift to Future Self
Future self. What actions do you want to commit to for 2023 that would be a gift to your future self?
Gift to Self Now
Current self. What actions do you want to commit to for 2023 that would be a gift to your self now?
ENABLE
Enable. Where is it best to enable? What are new possibilities for 2023 for which you want to plant seeds?
CONTROL
Control. Where do you need and want certainty? What do you want to control?
RISK
Risk. What might you want to lean into? Where can you take good risk in the year ahead?
SAFE
Safe. Where might you need to batten down the hatches? Where might you be seeking protection or safety given times ahead? Where might you want to save for a rainy day?
MOMENTUM
Continue forward. Where do you have good momentum and want to lean in?
PRUNE
Simplify and focus. What is to time to prune to create space in the year ahead?
CALLING
Calling to you. As you start the year and create space to listen, what is calling you forward? What are you being asked to step into?
CLOSING
Coming to an end. What do you want to honor as you close 2022?
Now, write a closing note to 2022 and a welcome note to 2023:
Dear 2022… Farewell! …
Consider these additional prompts if helpful:
It was a great/challenging year, because…
I’m grateful and thankful for...
I will celebrate...
I acknowledge...
I will let go of...
Dear 2023… Welcome! …
Consider these additional prompts if helpful:
My hopes for the year…
In my end-of-year highlight reel I hope to see...
My ambitions for the year…
I’m so excited to create…
At the end of the year, I’ll be ready to celebrate…
I want to feel… and will do/be… to create that experience.
I will care for myself and build my life+work resilience by doing…
I want to learn or master… in the new year.
I want to try… and will practice... in the new year.
Here’s to courageous possibility in 2023!
Interested in More 2022 Reflection & 2023 Planning?
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