Seneca praised the practice of reviewing your day each night, asking plainly what you did well, where you fell short, what you would do differently, all without harshness, like a fair judge of yourself. As the year draws toward its close, you might widen that practice and look back over a longer stretch. The point is not to score yourself or to drown in regret. It is to see clearly, with the same fairness you would give a friend. You will find missteps; everyone does. You will also find quiet strengths you have stopped noticing. Hold both honestly. A clear-eyed, gentle look back is how you learn without punishing yourself, and how you carry forward what is worth keeping.

Inspired by the old idea of the evening review. Written by Ugo Charles.