One Easy Question for Happy Reflection

A simple question for finding the gold in your year and in your life. Plus, the Top Five Posts from 2024.

You don’t need me to give you any advice for reflecting on your past year or setting goals. Which works out because I, for once, don’t have any. But you might enjoy answering this new favorite question of mine: “What was one of your favorite hours of the year?”

It doesn’t have to be exactly an hour—it might be five minutes or three hours. But per the rules of this game I just made up, it has to be a small window of time. This is how you get to the flecks of absolute gold in an experience, in your year, in your life. Those flecks of gold add up to nuggets and nuggets add up to a life wealthy in the ways that matter most.

For one friend, one of her favorite hours was the impromptu comedy routine a fellow camper did on a wilderness trip as they sat around the fire carving spoons. She had told me about her trip months ago, but I didn’t catch a glimpse of the magic of it until she shared this single experience as one of her favorites of the whole year. Gold.

For another friend, some of he…