At this time of year, when we already face the countdown to close the year and there is barely a week left to say goodbye to 2024, who more or less is beginning to look back now take stock of these 12 months. What have we failed in? What has been the most positive? The first thing we consider is whether considering taking stock can have both advantages and disadvantages. As he explains to us Rodrigo Gurrea Córdova, psychologist from the Institute of Interaction and Personal Dynamics (www.institutodeinteraccion.es), if we do it in a healthy way it can be something very positive. “The advantages it has is that it can promote our self-knowledge and our personal growth. It can help us identify achievements, areas for improvement, it also helps us to know and understand ourselves better,” he points out. Thus, in his opinion, if we reflect well we can better understand our behaviorsthe patterns we follow, what helps us and what does not help us achieve our goals. And above all, it can help us establish priorities and goals for the future.
Meanwhile, at the other extreme are the possible disadvantages. “If we are too rigid, so to speak, we can generate excessive criticismwhich causes us stress and anxiety. And on the other hand, due to this rigidity, we can also be left without resources to advance and move towards the future,” points out the expert, who clarifies that this always It has a lot to do with false expectations.too big that we cannot fulfill or when we seek perfectionism.
Taking stock can promote our self-knowledge and our personal growth
Learn from last year’s lessons
When we take stock, one of the positive parts is that we can learn from the lessons of the past year. Thus, the psychologist tells us that the positive aspects that we find when taking stock They show us our strengths, our capabilities. “Meanwhile, the negative can be shown to us rather as a challenge and offers us areas of opportunity to improve and grow. The important thing is to be able to be objective in order to develop resilience and to be able to have the capacity of intelligence to see where we have failed and how we can change what makes us uncomfortable,” he points out.
What should be the keys when making that balance?
To take advantage of this balance, the expert explains to us that the first thing we should do is try to see situations from an impartial perspective, being able be kind to ourselves when evaluating all our experiences of the year, considering positive aspects, areas for improvement.
And it is also important that we can be clear with what we need to be able to identify what steps we need to be able to apply everything we learned in the year and also to know what we really need. “I think that when we take stock, we have to be very clear about what our objective is going to be without going overboard. We have to have very clear expectations that can also be met. This is very important,” Gurrea explains to us.
© Getty ImagesWhat questions should we ask ourselves when taking stock?
We asked the expert what questions he thinks we should ask ourselves when we set out to take stock. And the psychologist summarizes them for us in the following:
- What have been the significant achievements of the year?
- What types of challenges did I face and how did I handle them?
- What did I learn about myself?
- What would I like to do differently next year?
“Above all, we must be very clear about What am I going to prioritize in the future?“, he details us.
We have to have very clear expectations that can be met.
How should we manage mistakes and bad moments?
On this journey, we obviously encounter mistakes and bad moments, which can cause us discouragement. How should we manage them? In the expert’s opinion, the most important thing to manage errors and bad moments is to recognize them. “Recognize that errors are part of a process. That We all make mistakes and it’s okay to make mistakes.because when one makes a mistake having a clear objective, this helps us turn it into reflection and learning. So, you simply have to analyze what went wrong and why, but not judge yourself. This is important,” he details.
Furthermore, it is also important be compassionate with yourself, which implies knowing that we are limited, knowing that we can make mistakes and practicing self-forgiveness in order to free ourselves from any emotional weight.
With what attitude should we face the balance?
What should be our attitude when facing this annual balance sheet? For Rodrigo Gurrea, our attitude should be open, curious, friendly. “Address a balance with a spirit of continuous learning where we can live without fear of self-judgment makes it easier for this growth and development to occur in a genuine and pleasant way. I think the main thing is do not generate false or too rigid expectationswhere the balance becomes a source of stress or anguish,” he points out.
We must recognize that errors are part of a process. That we all make mistakes and it’s okay to make mistakes
Facing 2025 better
What there is no doubt is that a well-executed balance could provide us with a roadmap for the new year and can help us to set realistic and achievable goalsespecially that they are based on our tastes, our beliefs, our way of living. Thus, we can set goals that are achievable and we can achieve success with this balance.
Make lists of purposes
Finally, another question that arises is whether it is useful to make purpose lists or they are wasted time, since they tend to remain on paper. “I think they are useful as long as we approach them correctly. That is, when we establish clear and specific goals. On the one hand, ensure that these goals are achievable. Furthermore, during the same year, see how the process is going and also reevaluate and being able to change while walking,” he suggests.
Something that can help us a lot in the opinion of the psychologist is be flexiblebe willing to adjust goals and change what is necessary. “In short, it is useful as long as we can be honest with ourselves, at the same time that we propose things that are achievable and realistic, because if not, they can lead us to the complete opposite, which is a source of anguish and of stress,” he concludes.