Rightly timed pause

Sometimes I find myself sitting in one corner and just contemplating about what happened throughout the day. One can realize that there are a lot of activities that one can do and endless possibilities of things that could happen even just for a day. What about a year? How many things can you imagine happening in a year?

There had been a lot of things going on with my life in 2012. I graduated from college, landed a job, pursued graduate studies and even ran for managing editor of a publication. All of these remarkable events in my life happened in just one year and only two weeks from now, another year is about to begin. It’s strange how time really flies so fast.

With another year setting in, it means that we are growing, and we are growing older. Not only that, it can also mean a beginning and an end to something. As the year changes, we cannot imagine a good future without looking back at the memories of the past. And with a lot of things that can happen in just a year, have you ever thought of examining yourself to reflect what you had done and what you will continue, stop, or even start to do?

One of my friends, Jill, taught me about 10Q. She started subscribing to it in 2010. 10Q is a website where a person registers to receive 10 questions in 10 days. You answer one question per day in what they call a secret online 10Q space. You are the boss of yourself, so it does not matter how you answer the questions. Your answers will be sent to a “secure online 10Q vault” for safekeeping. A year later, these answers will be sent to you via email (which you used to register) for private reflection. You can actually share them, if you want to, and this whole process repeats year after year after year, if you haven’t changed your email address.

10Q always starts on the month of September. The inspiration behind this is the Jewish Holiday starting from the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, a period of ten days dedicated to reflection. “This is a period of time that’s long been considered an opportunity to look at where you’re at, where you’ve come from, and where you’re heading,” 10Q explains on their website.  But this is not strictly for Jewish people – it is for anyone who wishes to look back and look ahead.

The questions in 10Q ranges from reminiscing the events that happened last year to planning for what you want for the next year. Some of my favorites are: “Is there something that you wish you had done differently this past year? Alternatively, is there something you’re especially proud of from this past year?” This question somehow abridges the ups and downs you’ve encountered for the year. You may realize regrets but you also celebrate achievements.  “Describe an event in the world that has impacted you this year. How? Why?” This question brings about the political scientist in me, making me react fervently to a pressing national issue or a piece on world news for the past year. And “Is there something (a person, a cause, an idea) that you want to investigate more fully in 2014?” This makes me feel that I should have a plan for next year that will certainly let me grow as a person, mentally, even physically, like learning a new language or a new hobby.

It may seem boring because you just answer questions, but when you are actually faced with the question, you will find it hard to answer. It consumes you to remember the series of events that happened, and makes you critical of your whole being. However, reflection doesn’t stop here – I think the “secure online 10Q vault” is such a brilliant idea. When asked about 10Q sending back her answers a year ago, Jill told me that she was quite in shock because she never imagined that she grew that old, having differing perspectives in the span of one year.  This aspect of 10Q shows what you have forgotten about, and instantly makes you reflect on how much you’ve grown as a person.

It’s a good thing to reflect over what you’ve done for a day, or even for a year because of how time eats up our world. It’s giving you a freedom to pause, stop for a while and just look at what’s really going on around you. As the famous line goes – you may be looking, but you are not really seeing. We tend to overlook things and just leave it at that. Maybe with such an exercise as this, you may realize a forgotten desired hobby or a great idea that can change the world.

Try to visit doyou10Q.com – I swear, it’s not another social network.