End of the year reflection journal prompts

December 29, 2021

Self-reflection journal prompts for the end of the year:

It seems only yesterday we were wishing each other New Year, and now we are at the end of it. Phew, a whole year has passed. Let that sink in.

Nonetheless, even though it is always different for everybody, but we can all say that a lot happened this year. We succeeded, we failed, we began a new journey, we grew, we made mistakes. In a nutshell, this year has been a roller coaster ride for many of us.

Here’s to reminisce, acknowledge ourselves, learn from the mistakes made with these ends of the year reflection prompts.

But before we begin and shower you with December journal prompts, let’s take a moment to understand why End of the Year journaling is important.

The Importance of year-end reflection through journaling:

Journaling for Reflection:

As said before, the year has been a roller coaster ride for us. And even though there are an array of benefits of journaling, the most important of them all, given the year is coming to an end, is self-reflection. So, here’s to looking back at the year, and realizing how far we have come along.

We might or might not have achieved anything significant, but we did change. This change can be for the better and worse. So, look back and decide which of the two it has been for you?

The benefit of journaling for reflection is that it helps you grow and become a better person. You can use the self-reflection journal prompts to look back and identify your mistakes, so you can correct them in the future. At the same time, you can perceive the year as a benchmark to achieve greater things in the future.

Journaling to believe in ourselves:

Not every year can be great for us. But it doesn’t mean that we let the year define our entire life. So, if you haven’t achieved anything great, or didn’t meet your goals this year, you can start afresh the following year. End of the year or December journal prompts can help you believe in yourself more.

Journaling for self-encouragement:

Self-reflection can have positive and negative effects. The negative is that you can feel disheartened that you didn’t meet your targets, or your year didn’t go as planned. Nonetheless, journaling can help you give yourself some self-encouragement. Imagine journaling as your friend who boosts your confidence, encourages you to be better.

Now that you have been enlightened about the benefits, here are end-of-the-year self-reflection journal prompts.

End of the year self-reflection prompts:

How did I improve this year?
What are some of the most important lessons this year?
What were some of the challenges I overcame this year?
Which was the happiest moment of the year for me?
What is the one good deed I am most proud of this year?
If I were to describe this year in a sentence, what would it be?
Did I grow at all? Or am I in the same boat as last year’s?
What is the one thing I wish I could change about this year?
What are some things that I didn’t do this year, but I am planning to do the next year?
What were my goals for the past year? How many of them did I achieve?
Why is it that I didn’t achieve my goals this year?
How do I plan to improve myself after identifying the mistakes I made?
What has been the funniest thing of the year for me?
Did I learn to love myself more this year?
What were my three accomplishments that might not be big, but important?
What were some of the major decisions I made this year? What did I learn from them?
Am I satisfied with the year I had?
What is that one thing I wish I did this year?
What were some habits I improved this year? If I did not, how do I plan to improve them the next year?
How did I take care of myself this year?

My 2021 self-reflection:

I never believed in the power of self-reflection journaling or exercises until last year. As I sat diving deep into these journal prompts, I realized that I indeed have made some remarkable progress.

You see, we have this habit of being hard on ourselves and expecting ourselves to be a superhero (I’m on an Avenger movie marathon lol). It’s so easy to criticize ourselves and list everything that we failed to accomplish rather than appreciating everything we achieved so far.

This year’s reflection brought so much clarity and peace because I discovered some phenomenal stuff about myself.

From personal life learnings to business things, this year was ‘the year of growth and transformation’. I hired my very first business coach and she helped me expand my business + shift my mindset. Investing in yourself truly pays off. Besides that, I launched my first ever journal which was so wonderfully received, and created my first course on Anger Journaling.

Above all, this year I learned that I’m powerful, phenomenal, and limitless; I just need to believe in myself (and so do you)

Journaling has been an integral part of my journaling journey and I wouldn’t have grown or transformed to this level without this beautiful art. I’m probably planning to write an entire blog post on the learnings from 2021.

But I would love to hear back from you, what did you learn from 2021? If you’re not sure yet, I would highly recommend going through the above journal prompts. You will find so much hidden treasure within once you start journaling.

New to journaling? Check out my beginner’s guide for new journalers.

Journaling for the end of the year reflection – conclusion

I hope that this blog post encourages you to pick your journal and pen and dive deep into this art of journaling. Sit with yourself and journal your heart out. The year-end journaling has always brought so much clarity, I’m sure it will serve you too. Here’s to a peaceful beginning.