Planning The End of The Year

Assalamu Alaykum,

This year I’m starting a new reflective practice before the end of the year. It entails me writing a mental letter to myself which I will open on the 1st January 2024.

With only 3 months left of the year, I constantly look at the intentions that I set back in January and wonder where the year went. Why didn’t I achieve what I intended? Where did I go wrong? Where did I spend my time?

We all feel this guilt and no doubt all of the memes on the internet don’t help.

But there’s always an opportunity to win the year back.

This mental letter to myself is a way to pause and recalibrate before the quickening pace of the final months of the year and holiday events.

Here’s how mine looks so far:

"Dear Shahbaz,

You’re writing this letter while on the mend from the toughest year you’ve had in a long time. You relocated abroad, an idea you spent years on didn’t work, your son fell sick, your relationships broke and are still to mend and never at one point did you feel peace except in the month of Ramadan..."

However, not only are you still standing, but you’re moving forward. No doubt when you take a leap, growing pains will happen. You continue to ask meaningful questions, reflect before you act, persevere in goodness, prioritize God,, and persevere in your approach to helping people take their next step in their journey of faith.

The goals you have won’t be complete in the next three months. But keep doing the small things well. Because Allah loves those things that are done consistently yet small.”

A Powerful Practice

I’ve become more aware of the benefits of this type of practice. It becomes even better when you physically write it down. This is a practice in the Ramadan Legacy Planner too when you write a letter to yourself for next Ramadan.

A recent HBR piece comments, "the habit of reflection can separate extraordinary professionals from mediocre ones. We would go so far as to argue that it’s the foundation that all other soft skills grow from."
In other words, those who engage in regular reflection have heightened emotional intelligence and make more informed decisions.

So, I’m asking you to join me, to pause long enough to check in with yourself before the hustle of the final months of the year.