RETROSPECTION

YOUR YEAR’S RETROSPECTIVE

My main piece of guidance for this RETROSPECTIVE EXERCISE is don’t over-think it. Do it quickly for the first round
(I suggest a time limit in the exercise.) Write down whatever comes to mind, unimpeded, bam-bam-bam — you can
always go back and refine your reflections if you want. The truth surfaces faster without a filter.

STEP 1: THE HIGHLIGHTS (4 - 5 MINUTES)

List the HIGHLIGHTS — the positive + fulfilling events and situations — of your past year or some months. DO IT IN
4 to 5 MINUTES. Seriously. It’s fascinating to see what surfaces when you don’t filter it, hence the time pressure.
Write them here:

STEP 2: PATTERN RECOGNITION

What pattern(s) do you see in your highlights list? What very obviously gave you joy? Was there a big or
“Important” event that happened but it didn’t even make it onto your list? What does that say to you?
(Forgetting or choosing to not put something “significant” on your list isn’t necessarily a negative thing, but it’s definitely
worth analyzing.) Write them here:
STEP 3: OUTSIDE INPUT
This is optional but can be fun and useful. Have a good friend look over/hear out your list of highlights and ask them to
point out what you may have missed, and what they see the patterns are. Write them here:

STEP 4: CONTEMPLATE WHAT REALLY MATTERED

Take a breather and really think about (and write about) what moved you the most, lit you up, felt like forward
progress, delighted you, made you proud, thrilled and really mattered the most in terms of your joy and
growth in your past year or season. Write it down:

STEP 5: THE FOCUS 5

Now here’s the point: Use last year’s fulfillment to guide your decisions for your near future. Because joy.
Because…

When you’re living from your joy and working for meaningfulness, you are:

A) WAY more healthy and effective.

B) SO much more fun to be around (Hello love and magnetism).

C) MUCH more able to make a contribution to the world around you.

You can look at it this way, in epic proportions: The planet needs you to be working from your joy. Humanity depends
on you doing what’s meaningful to you. The future of civilization is counting on your fulfilling. No pressure. Here’s the
micro perspective: you deserve to be lit up by what you do in the world. It’s your life.
Determine 5 things you want to focus on in the next year or phase of your life. (Easier said than done, but,
focus is ESSENTIAL to your fulfillment.)

This doesn’t have to be a fixed list or a major commitment (though it could be if you want to make it that.) What would
you LOVE to focus on? What would IDEAL look like? Write it here:

Side note: What you forget –– or choose NOT to put on your highlight list, can be very revealing about
what really, truly matters to you. When I first did this exercise, I completely forgot to write down that my business
had the best fiscal year ever. Almost all of my highlights were about the people in my life, about the concerts I went to,
and about my creative happiness –– the stuff that felt so good to make.

Retrospect. The idea here is to see what lights you up, so that you can plan to feel-have-do and experience more of
that in your life.

THE HIGHLIGHTS
… positive and fulfilling events and situations — of my past year or season

See where you’re at so you can get where you want to go.
A DESIRE MAP PREQUEL PROGRAM FROM DANIELLE LAPORTE.

DANIELLELAPORTE.COM/FREEANDCLEAR #DESIREMAP