The promise of a life audit
Just in time for the New Year
Seven years ago, in a moment where I was feeling creatively productive but professionally unfulfilled, I took an afternoon to reflect on my life and where it was going. I had no shortage of ideas to pursue or paths to take, but I needed something to anchor on to make sense of them all. So I designed a system to help me think through it, which I called a Life Audit. Using post-its, brainstorming prompts, and cluster analysis to look for larger patterns in my thinking — tools of the trade fellow user researchers will be familiar with — along with a heaping dose of self-reflection, I was able to make meaning of the moment and forge a path forward. The Life Audit helped me to reconnect with my values, uncover latent desires, and identify and understand some of the larger life goals I aspired to, and has guided my decisions and life path ever since.
It turned out that wanting a way to prioritize my goals, reflect on my values, and reorient my life toward those goals and values wasn’t just a personal project — many people sought similar guidance, and after documenting and sharing my process, the idea quickly went viral. Since 2014 the Life Audit has helped readers rediscover their personal purpose, find meaning in their day-to-day, and invest their energy in dreams big and small. Thanks to the messages readers send, it remains one of the most meaningful pieces I’ve contributed to the world (wide web).
Every year, the Life Audit gets renewed life, just in time for the New Year. The New Year is a natural time for self-reflection: we look back at what we’ve achieved (no matter how big or small), and what we still have left to do. It is a moment filled with possibilities, untarnished by insecurity, fear, or simply practicalities, and ripe for beginning to orient towards (and prioritize!) the possibilities that are most personally meaningful to us. This is part of what gives the Life Audit its longevity, year after year.
I recognize that this year of all years, it may be hard to feel optimistic. Thinking about everything you want to do in your life can be frustrating, given how little control so many of us have over our lives at the moment. Yet life moments like these — inexplicable, beyond our control and perhaps even our capabilities, the ones that force us to adapt whether we like it or not — are the perfect time for this kind of reflection, since they can be an important conduit to something new. To self-reflect, under these circumstances, is not necessarily to create a list of to-do’s (although you may find some things you wish to address immediately), but rather an opening to consider big questions, like: What do I want to do with my time here on earth? What do I find meaningful? What possibilities exist? To ask those questions of ourselves can feel daunting and uncomfortable — as so many things worth doing can.
Of course, a life audit isn’t just about big goals and dreams — it’s about the quotidien moments of daily life, too. It’s about living your life according to your values and rooted in what we believe to be good and true. It’s about how you want to show up— for yourself, and others— day after day. No matter how many shelter-in-place orders we must abide by, or how much our social life, work life, and home life have been altered (largely against our will) this year, when it comes to making decisions, taking actions, and behaving in a way that is aligned with our values, we are still in the driver’s seat. We can still stay true to ourselves, despite the circumstances.
The lucky among us may have found meaning in this moment months ago: We may have discovered a renewed sense of purpose in our vocation, or felt a change of heart about the path our life was taking, and finally done something about it. But many of us are still making sense of this strange time. We may sense a change is in the wings but feel uncertain about how to proceed. We may be caught in a swirl of thoughts and emotions that are waiting to be teased out. We may be so exhausted from the year that we simply haven’t given our own desires a second’s thought. Wherever on your journey you may be, this year, give yourself the gift of space to reconnect with your values, rediscover hopes and dreams, or explore future possibilities through a life audit — without the pressure of doing it all right away and tackling it all at once. (It’s called a “life” audit for a reason, so remember to pace yourself.) Set aside some time, get comfy, and listen to the voice inside you that knows you best of all.
2021 will surely be better than 2020, but we need to move forward with purpose to make the most of it. Here’s to finding that for ourselves day by day, bit by bit— or even in moments of sweeping change with unabashed gusto, if that’s more your style.
Happy New Year, readers. May yours be filled with meaning, purpose, and the gift of calm and self-compassion to manage the chaos when it comes.