It’s the week of my birthday.

The end of one annual cycle and the start of a new one, which creates a perfect opportunity to reflect and reset.

I absolutely LOVE pausing for perspective around my birthday. It feels like a really nice gift to myself, and a much more relevant milestone than the calendar New Year.

Each May I take a little time to look back at where I was at the same time the year before, and to appreciate what’s changed.

This year I’m reflecting back on:

The story | What’s happened this year? What have I been up to?
The ups | What am I proud of? What have I achieved or completed that I can appreciate?
The downs | Where have I struggled or had challenges?
The learning | What do I know now that I didn’t before?
The people | Who has been an integral part of shaping me and the experience I’ve had? What do I most appreciate about them?

And looking ahead to:

The future | From what I can see now, what might this year be about? Is there anything I’d love to build into it? What would I love to be looking back on next May?

It’s a way of making sense of the experience of the last year and putting where I am in context, before moving forward into the next.

Of course, we don’t have to wait until our birthdays to pause for perspective, or restrict it to arbitrary dates like the calendar New Year.

It’s a beautiful thing to do at any time - to take a step back and see the wood for the trees.

Maybe these questions feel useful right now, or you can think of a moment where they would fit. Perhaps they might be a birthday treat for you too :-)

Does your birthday feel like your own personal New Year?

And when would be lovely moment to give yourself the gift of perspective?

Wishing you all a wonderful week,