5 Creative Ways to Reflect on the Past Year
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards” - Kierkegaard
As the year draws to a close, it’s natural to pause and reflect on the journey we’ve taken—what we’ve learned, how we’ve evolved, and where we’ve grown. Traditional methods of self-reflection may involve journaling or evaluation, but for those of us drawn to creative practices, there are a myriad of ways to engage with the past year through self-expression.
Here are five creative approaches to reflecting on your year, tapping into your intuitive wisdom, and gaining new insights as you prepare for the year ahead:
1. Create a Visual Timeline
A fun way to reflect on the past year is by creating a visual timeline that maps out significant moments during the year. You can use photos, magazine cutouts, drawings, or even symbolic objects to represent milestones, challenges, or turning points. This activity helps you step outside of linear time and instead focus on how various events might be interconnected.
As you assemble your timeline, notice patterns or themes that emerge. Which colours, textures, or images stand out? What do these visuals reveal about your emotional state throughout the year? This creative practice allows you to process your journey in a non-verbal, symbolic way, deepening your self-awareness and understanding of the year’s narrative.
2. Journaling with Expressive Writing Prompts
Journaling is a time-honored tool for reflection, but to deepen your practice, you can use expressive writing prompts that encourage you to think outside the box. Rather than simply writing about your experiences, try writing in the form of poetry, a letter to your future self, or even a dialogue with a part of yourself — whether that’s your inner critic, your teenage self, or your wise sage.
Some expressive writing prompts to consider:
If the past year was a story, what would its title be?
Write a letter to yourself from this past year: what is something you learned about yourself hat surprised you?
Imagine you are speaking to the “you” a year from now. What advice would you offer?
These prompts encourage deeper introspection and invite creative responses that may reveal insights you wouldn’t have uncovered with a standard reflective exercise.
3. Engage in Expressive Movement or Dance
For those who find it difficult to articulate their feelings with words, expressive movement can be a liberating way to reflect on your emotional landscape for the previous year. Dance, gesture, or free-form movement allows your body to release and express emotions that may be stored or unprocessed. Put on some music that resonates with you - perhaps something uplifting, calming, or reflective — and allow your body to respond naturally.
Reflect on how your body feels in this moment: where do you feel tension, where do you feel freedom? Use movement to embody your experiences and let your body guide you to deeper awareness. Acknowledge the places where you’ve grown stronger or where you may still be holding on to old patterns or unresolved emotions.
4. Create a Collage or Vision Board
Another creative way to reflect on the past year is by making a collage or vision board that combines elements of gratitude, lessons learned, and aspirations for the year. Use images, words, and quotes that capture what you’ve accomplished. This could include personal growth, career goals, emotional healing, or creative projects.
While crafting your collage or vision board, take note of what feels most important to you right now. What are the symbols that represent your growth, healing, or desires? The process of choosing visuals and words helps you focus on what mattered most to you and help you to align your energy with new intentions moving forward.
5. Reflect Through Drawing, Painting or Sculpture
Expressive arts techniques, such as drawing, painting, or sculpture, are wonderful tools for reflection because they bypass the logical mind and allow emotions and thoughts to flow directly through the creative process. For example, you might use drawing to express contrasting feelings. Perhaps a symbol of your strength beside an image of your vulnerability? Or, you could create a self-portrait that shows your growth over the year, incorporating colours, shapes, and symbols that represent different aspects of yourself.
No visual art experience is needed to engage in these practices. The focus is on the process, not the product. It’s about tapping into your inner resources and using drawing, painting or sculpture as a language for self-discovery.
Conclusion
Self-reflection is essential for personal growth, but it doesn’t have to be limited to traditional journaling or analysis. By engaging in creative practices — whether through visual art, movement, expressive writing, or collage — you can access a deeper level of insight that may not be accessible through logic alone. These creative processes help you honour where you’ve been, celebrate your growth, and prepare for what’s next.
As you reflect on the past year, I hope you’ll embrace some of these creative practices to engage fully with your experience, trusting that the act of creation can guide you to new levels of self-understanding and transformation.
Want to dive deeper into how creative practices can guide you in setting your intentions for the new year? Join me for my January workshop series Mindset Reset: https://www.firepotexat.com/workshops/mindset-reset
