The year end is coming, before we move on to the new year, it’s high time for all of us to do a review for the year. To me, doing this annual review is like getting a report card. It’s no different with my annual review – except these results aren’t for my studies – they’re bigger. They’re for my life.

　　時間轉瞬到年底，在我們步入新的一年之前，我們所有人都應該對這一年做個回顧總結。對于我來說，年終總結就算是拿成績單。年終總結和成績單一樣，只不過收獲的并不是學習成績，它們更重要，是關于我的人生的總結。

Importance of Year End Reviews

年終總結的重要性

　　So why is it important to do a year end review? There are 4 simple reasons:

　　年終總結為什么這么重要？有這樣四個簡單的理由：

　　1. Draw lessons from the year

　　從一年中吸取經驗教訓

　　What have you experienced this year? What have you learned from them? With every experience we face, there are important things to learn. We can either let these incidences pass us by, or we can stop to understand, internalize them, and draw lessons from them. Life is your school, and the lessons are dressed up as your everyday incidences. You don’t want to be living year after year without learning from your experiences. That’s just sleepwalking your life away.

　　2011這一年，你經歷了些什么？從中你又學到了些什么？我們面對的每一次經歷，都有一些重要的東西值得學習，我們可能會讓發生的這些事情就從我們的生命中匆匆而過，或者我們也可以選擇停下來，理解并消化這些經歷，從中學到經驗教訓。生活就是你的學校，這些經驗教訓會假扮成每天的瑣事。你也不想年復一年只是過生活，卻從不從經歷中學到些什么吧，那樣的話，你只是在夢游度日。

　　There are a lot of lessons which I learn every year. Looking back at my review for 2007, one of the biggest lessons I learned is that our reactions to life’s situations is a choice, and it’s up to how we make out of situations we encounter. This realization came after a highly intense period at my job. At that time I was already a positive person, but the situation was so out of control that it really made me negative. It was after a short period of feeling miserable that I realized that the reality was such and it was up to me to make the best out of it. I could either sit and bitch about it which would do absolutely nothing to change the situation, or I could take action and make the best out of it. This small shift in my mindset created a big shift in my reality – it made me a lot more proactive and solution-oriented. It made me realize that many of us generate unnecessary baggage with negative situations in life, and it’s all about taking action to create the lives that we want. Happiness is truly a choice.

　　每年我都能學到很多。現在回頭看看我2007年的總結，我學到的最重要的一課是“我們對生活環境的反應是一種選擇”，取決于我們如何解決遇到的情況。這種感悟是在我的工作經歷了一段高度緊張的階段之后得出的。其實那時候我是個很積極向上的人，但是當時的情況完全不在我的掌控下，讓我也變得消極了。有那么一小段時間，我覺得很痛苦，然后我就意識到，生活就是這樣，如何做到最好取決于我自己，我可以選擇干坐在那里抱怨牢騷，但這根本對改變現狀一點幫助都不起；我也可以選擇采取行動做到最好。這樣簡單的心態轉變使我的生活出現了很大的改變：我變得更加主動，積極選擇解決問題的方法。這也讓我意識到，我們許多人在遇到不利狀況時，總是背負了太多不必要的包袱，只要采取行動，我們就能創造想要的生活。幸福快樂其實只是個選擇。

　　Because I would write down lessons I learned each time (in my life handbook)， I could then build upon my learnings. Rather than deja vuing through life situations, every time I would think about how I could apply what I had learned earlier and how I could do something different. As a result, I kept moving forward in my growth.

　　因為我每次都會記下學到的經驗教訓(在我的生活手冊里)，所以我從所學中慢慢成長。每次總結后我都會想，下次遇到我會如何利用之前學到的改正錯誤，而不是一次次的重復犯錯栽跟頭。就這樣，我在成長的路上一步步前進。

　　2. Wrap up what you’ve done this year

　　打包今年所做的事情

　　Many things can happen in a year and this is the perfect time to wrap them up. Were there any ups and downs? Did you get a promotion? Did you recently quit your job and joined a new workplace? Did you just start up a business? Did you move to a new place? Did you just end an unhappy relationship? Did you move on from a bad partnership? Any major events took place? Or perhaps there are nothing significant that happened?

　　每年都會發生許許多多的事情，現在就是你把之前的事情打包的最佳時機。生活中有一些起起落落？你升職了？最近剛辭職進入新的工作環境？剛開始創業？搬到新地方？剛結束一段不快樂的感情？走出了一段很糟的伙伴關系？發生了很多大事？也或許沒什么重要的事情發生？

　　This is the time to wrap up the year. It’s time to let go of past baggage, tie up the loose ends, tidy up your feelings, and get ready for what’s ahead.

　　現在是該打包這一年了，也是時候放下這些過去的包袱，做一些收尾讓工作有始有終，收拾起情緒，準備迎接即將到來的新一年。

　　3. Regain focus

　　重新找到重點

　　After working for a few years, you’d find that the years sort of just start to blend into each other. Soon it’s hard to tell one year apart from the next. Subsequently, it’s so easy to fall into a routine without being conscious of it. Sometimes I hear people commenting that they’re not sure what exactly they’ve been doing with the past few years of their lives, because everything just seems like the same.

　　工作了幾年后你會發現，每年似乎開始有些混在一起的感覺，很難把它們區分開來。然后不知不覺，工作就很容易變成例行公事的老套路。有時候我會聽到人們在說，不知道過去的幾年具體都干了些什么，因為一切看起來都一樣。

　　It’s just like driving. When you’re driving in a car, it can be hard to see where you are and where you’re heading to. On the other hand, pausing for a short moment to look at the map can be amazingly helpful. Where are you right now? How far have you traveled? Where do you want to go to? Doing so helps you to regain focus.

　　這就像開車一樣。當你開車的時候，很難看出來你開到哪和要去哪。而另一方面，如果你停下來看看地圖，你會發現超級有幫助。你現在正在哪兒？你走了有多遠了？你想去哪兒？年終總結會幫你重新找到重點。

　　Like I mentioned above, doing my annual review is like getting the report card for my life. How do I grade myself for this year? Do I give myself an A+? A? B? C? D? or even F? This assessment reminds me if I have lived this year the way I had wanted to.

　　我之前提到過，寫年終總結，就像拿成績單一樣。今年給自己打多少分？A+? A? B? C? D? 還是F? 這樣的自我評估會提醒我，讓我反思過去的一年是否是我想要的生活方式。