Jay Shetty ON 7 Questions to Successfully Reflect on 2022

At the end of the year, it is always a good time to reflect on the past twelve months. Jay Shetty thinks that retrospection and reflection are powerful tools for setting us up.

As a society, we tend to chase the next thing as soon as we are done with another. It is a distraction. Studies have shown that reflecting on how you've overcome past challenges will help you better process negative experiences in the future.1 Thus, Jay Shetty invited the listeners to take it slow and look back at 2022 with the help of seven questions.

What Challenges Have You Overcome in 2022?

Every year comes with its challenges and opportunities. And every time you overcome a challenge, you will gain new skills. You will learn how to manage new situations.Was there any fear that you overcame? Did you do something new or something you haven’t done for awhile? What was something that you broke through this year? It doesn’t have to be anything huge, just a challenge you overcame.

To Jay Shetty, there were quite a few challenges that he overcame in 2022. First, it was his health journey. He had a double hernia surgery, which impacted his life and forced him to re-lean the way he worked.Jay Shetty explained, "If we've never sat down to reflect on how you dealt with a bad thing last year, we don't know how to deal with a bad thing next year."

So, he encouraged the listeners to take the time to reflect on the challenge and how they overcame it. What were your takeaways?

What Surprise Did You Deal With?

Jay Shetty asked the listeners if there was anything that happened in their lives that they weren't prepared for. Surprises can be both good and bad.This year brought Jay Shetty quite a few surprises. One of them was his unexpected surgery. The other was being forced to spend almost half the year apart from his wife due both to their busy schedules, and to unexpected visa issues.

He explained that spending so much time away from your partner can be very difficult. Although technology allows video calls, it is not the same as spending time together in person. He said,

"I realized. . .for every month or every day, or every week that you're apart, it takes that same amount of time to recreate that intimacy."

What Did You Buy This Year?

What was a tangible investment that you made this year? It could be an object, such as new clothes or gadgets. But it could also be a class or a course that you invested in, and learned and grew from.

Jay Shetty finds that people often beat themselves up for spending money, even though they spend some of it on things that improve their lives. But, if it makes you happy or improves your personal or work life, you may say it was worth the investment. Then, you can reflect on it and understand which purchase brought you joy this year.

For Jay Shetty, buying a new iMac and an iPad helped him improve his job. He no longer had to work on a small screen at home, and the iPad was easy to handle while traveling.

He also invested in his new studio. It is now a place that makes him and his guests feel comfortable. It also gives the viewers who watch his podcast episodes on YouTube a pleasant viewing experience. So, this was another worthwhile investment.

Best Book or Podcast in 2022?

On your development journey, you have likely stumbled upon a book or a podcast you loved. The ideas you learned and considered valuable are something to share with your loved ones. Therefore, Jay Shetty encouraged the listeners to share and recommend books or podcast episodes that interested them.

Jay’s favorite book of 2022 was Dr. Gabor Maté's The Myth of Normal. Moreover, he had multiple fascinating guests on the On Purpose podcast and loved every conversation. Some of the episodes worth noting were the dialogues with Kendall Jenner, Shawn Stevenson, Dr. Amen, and Tony Robbins, to name a few.

What Are Your Blind Spots for 2023?

Even though starting something new is often thrilling, there are still things to learn from the process. So, Jay Shetty encouraged the listeners to acknowledge the challenges and projects ahead of them.

"Knowing your blind spots actually helps you prepare rather than avoiding them. Hoping you don't have to see them, hoping that you don't have to deal with them will actually take care of them, which it doesn't. So it makes us weak, or it doesn't make us feel as powerful as we think it would."

For Jay, going on tour is a blind spot. He has never done it before and is excited to see what he will learn from this experience. He is also new to handling the challenges of a recession. However, he is working on preparing himself. He wants to gather all the necessary resources and share them with his followers and ON Purpose listeners.

What Made You Happiest This Year?

Jay Shetty said, "The mind is good at remembering the tough times and the difficult times and good at forgetting the beauty and the joy." Therefore, it is vital to refresh our memory from time to time with good recollections. If we reminisce about the good times, we will see how beautiful moments have inspired our days this year. Jay believes "when we actively seek out those moments and celebrate them and relive them in our mind, they become etched. They become imprinted on our hearts. And they become stronger and more powerful as points of inspiration in our life."

Jay had plenty of moments in 2022 that made him very happy. First was when he reunited with his wife and had the chance to reconnect deeply with her. Then, it was his trek with the gorillas in Rwanda.

Another thing that made Jay happy this year was reinforcing the realization of how incredible his team is. He is grateful to have such great, collaborative, and powerful individuals. They make a great team, and this played a significant role in his happiness level.

He participated in an event where he was able to interact with people and hear how his meditation series on Calm benefitted them and helped them manage challenging times. These conversations inspired Jay to move forward and continue to deliver valuable content for his followers and listeners.

Someone You Are Grateful for

Jay Shetty invited the listeners to reflect on who had stayed by their side and made their days brighter. Having someone in your life that makes a big difference is such a comforting feeling. The end of the year is an excellent time to reflect and identify the people who were there for you.

The most influential people in our lives may not even realize their impact on us. They will love us unconditionally and not ask for anything in return. Therefore, it is essential to take the time to become conscious of who they are and show them some appreciation.

For Jay Shetty, there were a few people who shaped his year:

 
1. There is his wife, Radhi, whom he loves deeply. She is patient and understanding and knows him in and out.
 
2. His monk teacher came and lived with them a few times during 2022.
 
3. His best friend still lives in London, with whom he kept in regular contact despite a busy schedule.

Prepared for 2023

Jay Shetty asks himself a series of questions at the end of each year. They don't stay the same and evolve. In sharing them with his listeners, Jay hoped to help them be more prepared for the new year.

Jay Shetty hopes reflecting on these seven questions will better equip you to deal with the challenges and surprises that the new year has in store. If you become aware of your blind spots, you can become more aware of what will come. With a bird’s eye view of upcoming events, you can learn how to manage your schedule and prioritize the things and people that make you happy.And on your growth journey, you can meet Jay in person on his tour next year. Book your ticket at jayshettytour.com.

More From Jay Shetty

Listen to the entire ON Purpose with Jay Shetty podcast episode on “7 Questions To Successfully Reflect On 2022 & End The Year With Confidence” now in the iTunes store or on Spotify. For more inspirational stories and messages like this, check out Jay’s website at jayshetty.me.

1Croft, A., Dunn, E. W., & Quoidbach, J. (2014). From Tribulations to Appreciation: Experiencing Adversity in the Past Predicts Greater Savoring in the Present. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 5(5), 511–516. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550613512510