How to Leverage Your Past to Supercharge Your Future

As December morphs into January, the time is ripe to begin entertaining thoughts of what you most want to create, achieve, or become.

It’s curious that we often associate moments of reflection with major milestones (like a New Year), rather than as a continual process in our lives. Yet it’s easy to let the frenetic pace of everyday life prevent us from enjoying the clarity of being alone with our thoughts – and going beyond them into the silence of our own experience.

But it’s in the evaluation and reflection of your experiences that you receive insight – a vital gift that can become meaningful and empowering force in your life.

Pressing on from one thing to the next without pausing long enough to integrate what you’ve have learned deprives you of the gifts these experiences bring. It’s like finding a few wrapped presents with your name on them that were left behind in the festivities – and absentmindedly throwing them into a box instead of opening them up to see what’s inside.

Your experiences allow you to learn – about yourself, others, and life itself. You learn what works, what feels good, what doesn’t, who you are, what you are capable of, what you want more of (and less of too).

But only if you pause long enough to entertain the questions that allow you to unpack these gifts that are waiting to be opened.

If you have not yet afforded yourself the indulgence of conscious and intentional reflection, I encourage you to carve out some time to do so.

Below are some questions that can help in this process. Let yourself go where you are drawn with them. And take the time to go within and listen with curiosity and earnestness.

Start by doing a review of your year – consider looking back through your calendar, journal, or even pictures on your phone to jog your memory and spark insights. Then move on to contemplate what’s below…

• What were your most significant accomplishments and breakthroughs in 2025?
• What held you back? How will you overcome those obstacles in the future?
• What were your biggest insights or realizations over the past year?
• How will you apply what you learned to what you want to create in 2026?
• What two or three things about your work do you most want to be different this year?
• What two or three changes do you most want to see in your personal life?
• What strengths will you rely on most to face the challenges that lie ahead?
• What qualities, skills, etc. could you develop to better arm you for the upcoming year?
• Picture yourself a year from now, looking back over the past year. What three or four accomplishments would you like to have achieved?
• What actions can you take to achieve your desired results for the upcoming year?

For more on how to gain the clarity necessary to envision and chart a path to your desired future and to receive updates on an upcoming webinar that’ll help you make the most of 2026, download my special report, “Why Real Leaders Don’t Set Goals (and what they do instead)”.