A reflective Sunday morning, contemplating the year ahead, with my AI coach.

byPBA

633 followers

6 hrs ago

What a great time to be alive, sitting on my 20 year old Poang IKEA chair in the kitchen with a cup of tea, reflecting and journaling whilst watching the clouds drift by. Like so many of us, we look back on the year and think about what our dreams and aspirations have been for this year and what we want to achieve next year. Have I hit all of my goals, absolutely not, however I’m one lucky man with a wonderful loving family. So it got me thinking, what could I do better to achieve more next year? I aimed for Mars this year and possibly hit the moon, like everyone else, trials, tribulations & plenty of distractions. I use AI to help me in various aspects of my life, so it makes sense to try and navigate next year with a bit of help. I also thought I’d share this with the community in case it can help anyone else.

Here is the prompt I put onto ChatGPT:

What would be the best questions to ask myself to be the best version of myself by the end of next year?

And here is the response:

Below is a structured set of high-leverage self-inquiry questions designed to drive measurable personal, professional, and psychological growth over the next year. These questions are intentionally framed to support strategy, execution, and accountability, not vague reflection. Used consistently (monthly or quarterly), they can materially change outcomes by the end of next year.

1. Direction & Identity (Who You Are Becoming)

1. If next year were successful beyond expectations, what would be objectively different in my life?
2. What identity must I grow into for those results to be inevitable?
3. Which current beliefs, habits, or self-stories will disqualify me if left unchanged?
4. What standards will I no longer negotiate with myself on?
5. If someone studied my calendar, what would they conclude I truly value?

2. Goals & Outcomes (What Winning Looks Like)

1. What are the 3–5 outcomes that would make next year a clear success?
2. Which one goal, if achieved, would make all others easier or irrelevant?
3. What does “excellent” look like in each major area of life (health, wealth, relationships, craft)?
4. What am I currently settling for that I would regret in five years?
5. What am I avoiding setting as a goal because it scares me?

3. Time, Focus & Leverage (How Results Are Actually Created)

1. What activities create 80% of my results, and how much time do they currently receive?
2. What am I spending time on that produces no long-term value?
3. Where am I confusing motion with progress?
4. What would my schedule look like if it reflected my highest priorities?
5. What single habit, if installed and protected, would compound all year?

4. Skills & Mastery (What You Must Become Better At)

1. Which skills will be most valuable in my life or business 12 months from now?
2. What skill am I underdeveloped in because it’s uncomfortable?
3. Who is already world-class at what I want—and how can I systematically learn from them?
4. What am I practicing deliberately versus passively consuming?
5. If I could only improve one capability next year, which would produce the highest ROI?

5. Health, Energy & Sustainability (The Foundation)

1. What currently drains my energy that I tolerate out of habit?
2. What would “non-negotiable health” look like in daily behavior?
3. How does my sleep, nutrition, and movement affect my decision quality?
4. What would change if I treated energy as my primary asset?
5. Am I designing my life for performance—or just survival?

6. Relationships & Environment (Who and What Shapes You)

1. Which relationships elevate me—and which subtly limit me?
2. Who do I need to spend more intentional time with next year?
3. Where am I over-accommodating at the expense of my standards?
4. Does my environment support focus, growth, and recovery?
5. What conversations am I avoiding that would meaningfully improve my life?

7. Courage, Discipline & Integrity (Who You Are Under Pressure

1. What am I currently avoiding because it’s uncomfortable but necessary?
2. Where do I break promises to myself—and why?
3. What would my future self thank me for handling now?
4. How do I respond when motivation disappears?
5. What does acting with integrity look like when no one is watching?

8. Review & Course Correction (Staying on Track)

1. What worked this month—and why?
2. What didn’t—and what is the lesson?
3. What should I stop, start, or continue?
4. Where am I drifting from my stated goals?
5. If the next 90 days were repeated four times, would I like the result?

How to Use These Effectively

• Quarterly deep review: Answer all sections in writing.
• Monthly check-in: Revisit Sections 3, 5, and 8.
• Weekly anchor: Choose one question to guide decisions that week.
• Be specific and measurable. Vagueness prevents change.

Final Perspective

Becoming the best version of yourself by next year is less about motivation and more about clarity, standards, and consistent execution. The quality of your questions determines the quality of your actions—and ultimately, your outcomes.

If you want, I can help you turn these into a 12-month personal operating system with quarterly goals, weekly routines, and review templates.

Thank you!

My next few days are going to be used for getting setup for Christmas and also working on this to get prepared and organised for an amazing year ahead.

As always, I am truly grateful to everyone here at Wealthy Affiliate for the vast wealth of knowledge, capability of a system which is going from strength to strength and the ability to strive towards the life I dream of for me, my family and everyone here in this wonderful community.

Thanks again and best wishes

Peter