Louise Thompson: Goodbye 2016

Here are some thought starters for you to ponder over the summer to bring 2016 to a close. Photo / Getty Images

2016 - what a year it has been! We said goodbye to Bowie, Prince and Ali. We said hello to Auckland's Real Housewives, Brexit and President-elect Trump. I don't think many of us will forget the rollercoaster of 2016 in a hurry. It's the perfect time to reflect on our personal highs and lows as we lay the year to rest and carve out a foundation for a meaningful and progressive 2017 for ourselves. Here are some thought starters for you to ponder over the summer (perhaps with a journal and a cold beer in hand) to bring 2016 to a considered close.

Farewell
What would you like to farewell and leave behind in 2016? What have you outgrown? Perhaps it's a relationship, or a social situation or obligation. Maybe you feel ready for a new career or a new location. What would you like to farewell, and gently close the door on?

Gratitude
What are you most grateful for in 2016? What worked out well for you, better perhaps than you anticipated? Who came into your life or stepped up in your life in a way that enhanced it? To what and to whom do you feel appreciative for their contribution to your life in 2016? Have you told them?

Accomplishment
What are your proudest achievements this year? Where did you give the most of yourself? When did you push yourself out of your comfort zone? Where and how did you grow? What are you finest accomplishments of the year?

Lessons
What have you learned this year? About yourself? About others or the world? What do you want to repeat? Do more of? Less of? What worked? What didn't? Why? What lessons do you wish to take from 2016?

Giving and balance
Where did you give the most of yourself in 2016? Are you happy with where you put the share of your time, energy and attention? Are there areas where you wish you had invested more? Where do you wish you had given less? Where do you wish you had given more support? Where do you, on reflection, think you could have got more support? What are three ways you would like to balance your time or energy distribution differently in 2017?

Highlights
What were the best feeling moments of 2016? What are the highlights you will remember for life? Who and what made them special and why? What three words sum up 2016 for you personally?

Taking time, out of the hamster wheel frenzy of doing, to pause and reflect is so important. Effective change and growth comes from awareness of what's working for us, and what is not. If we wish for a better tomorrow it is best built on the foundations of the lessons of today. I hope you can take a little time to just be this Christmas, and reflect on a good year well lived, and to build some anticipation for the brand shiny new one that is about to open up!

All that remains is to thank you so very much for reading. I appreciate every word and comment through the year. May your Christmas be sunny and the people you share it with as warm as the weather. See you in January 2017: I feel a really good year coming our way.

- bite.co.nz