How To Reflect on Your Year and My Experience

Written by Ashley Lopez

Hi everyone, welcome back to Ashley Spills. Ashley, here. You can check out my last post here. I hope everyone is having a great week so far… a great LAST WEEK OF THE YEAR! What’s up 2022? You’re looking mighty fine. So get this, my Passion Planner still hasn’t arrived and they’re sending me another one. I’m pretty annoyed that I can’t fill it out before the new year, I doubt it’ll get here on time. Oh well, I guess that’s just life. BUT, I still wanted to share my top three New Year’s Resolutions/Ashley’s 2022 Purposes. I’ll list them as well as some SMART goals that will go into accomplishing them. (Some, not all of them.) (Excuse me if sound like I’m talking to myself, that’s because I am. SHEEEESH.)

Ashley’s 2022 Purposes

Grow Ashley Spills
1. Post on scheduled days (every Thursday and every other Sunday)
1. Create pins for Pinterest after each post and upload them to Tailwind
  1. Once a month, create pin descriptions and bulk schedule
2. Stop obsessing over SEO and Uber Suggest and just write, fuck it
3. Grow your followers by ___ (I’m not sure yet)
Write outside of your blog (e.g. scripts and short stories)
1. Just write all your ridiculous ideas on your phone’s notepad/notebook at home so you don’t forget the story
2. Don’t necessarily listen to everything sources on Google tell you to do (“you MUST write a synopsis before you start your script…”)
3. Write three to ten new pieces (depending on length)
Make healthIER choices (physically and mentally)
1. Don’t overeat… will I EVER accomplish this?
2. Read more, watch less
3. Share my feelings with someone as soon as they’re present
4. Do some form of physical activity at least three times a week
5. Maintain __ LBS OR lose __ LBS
6. Read one book a month

Alright, what do you think? I think these goals are pretty SMART and most importantly MEASURABLE—I need to be able to see my progress.

How to reflect: Reflection questions for you

What have you done this year to better yourself? Will you continue doing so?
What did you accomplish this year that you’re proud of?
In what area did you lack confidence in?
What area of life made you feel the most confident?
What are three things you can do today to make a change? Whether it be big or small.
At this moment, what is making you happy? Mad? Sad? Annoyed?
What do you do that makes you feel the most proud of yourself? Is it hard for you to always do these things? If so, why?
Are there any personal triggers that this year brought you that you can recognize?
What was the most memorable part of this past year?
What are you most grateful for this year?

Learning how to reflect on my my own life has made a massive difference in my personal development. I hope these questions help you, too!

December reflection

The month of December brought me back to me. October and November were no good in a planning or health sense, I avoided things and slacked off from things I should have done. I’m happy that this month gave me a chance and a push to reignite my flame before January.

I finished my first course in the copyediting certificate program at UCSD on December 10th and start my next course on January 10th. I’m actually sticking to my plan to re-review everything I learned and I only have two more weeks worth of lessons to review. I’M STOKED.

I saw family I haven’t seen in months and I’m thankful; spent Christmas with my godfather who is visiting from Peru for the first time ever; spent some quality time with my siblings; spoiled my mom on Christmas; and finally saw two of my close friends. Wow, I saw a lot of people this month.

For the first time in months, December allowed me to slow down and granted me some much needed relaxation time. I watched countless TV episodes and even some movies. I got to stay in rather than out. Sleeping early became a norm and I even slept in on the weekends.

Looking ahead and how to reflect

January 2022 already sounds somewhat stressful, okay not stressful, just busy because two of my weekends are already booked. BUT that’s okay. Right? Cheers to making memories. The more the merrier. I’ve been spending hours listening to podcasts and researching blog stuff—you know tip & tricks—that kind of stuff. It’s all given me a run for my money. There’ so much to do that I haven’t been doing. I didn’t know how important SEO was…

Often times I wonder how people get so many views, likes, and comments on their blog. It’s mind-blowing to me. Everyone makes it look so easy. Sometimes I wonder if keeping up with this blog is even worth it… am I even gaining any satisfaction from it? The answer is yes: I do. I could have one reader and still feel happy because among other things, this platforms gives me the push I need to write. Never in my life have I written so much; I feel so inspired to write other things (creative pieces).

As I look to my future and try to remind myself not to overthink it so much, I feel like I am at a better place. Having even somewhat of a sense of direction feels thrilling and is pushing me forth. To be cheesy, “I may not know where I’m going, but I know where I’ve been.” All I know is I don’t want to go back, I want to move forward and be better. Realizing goals and dreams seem somewhat exhausting to think about… can I really get to point Z? I don’t know, but I’m super down for the ride.

Taking things less serious

If 2021 has taught me anything it’s that I need to slow the fuck down and stop worrying about everything. That’s why learning how to reflect was vital in my journey to slow down, mentally that is. Things will fall into place as they should. When something doesn’t go my way, that’s okay, too. Not everything is going to go as planned and I’m learning to accept that. I won’t be some big-time blogger by tomorrow. Being a freelance writer/copyeditor happens after gaining knowledge and experience. I understand that driving in traffic may always slow me down. Coffee is not something I have to buy every morning. Sometimes I don’t feel like doing anything at all.

I’m thankful for where I’m headed because that’s where I’m supposed to go. Beating myself up about things I cannot control is not a good way to spend my energy. Spending my time doing things I want to do rather than things I should do is also okay as long as it’s bringing me joy. Being perfect isn’t attainable and perfection lacks discipline, lessons, and adventure… everything I crave.

HAVE A VERY VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR’S EVE AND DAY!

Thanks for reading, xo.

P.S. Get to PLANNING! And go get that New Year kiss! #NewYearNewMe amiright?

Other resources

New Year movies to watch