New Year, New Thinking! Self-Reflection - Veritus Group

A three-part series to start the New Year right.

I think it’s natural at the end of a year or at the beginning of a new year to do some self-reflection on where you are in your life, your work, relationships, etc. 

So, in the spirit of new year, new thinking, I’m proposing that you take stock of where you are in your career as a fundraiser, the organization you are working for, and how it all fits in with what you want out of life.

I can point to seminal moments in my life where I felt like I was stuck. And I either purposely got out of my comfort zone and actually did something new or I did a lot of self-reflection, study, and daily writing to figure out what was going on with myself. I cannot tell you how important this has been in my life.

2025 is a good year to do some self-reflection. Here are some questions to help you in that process. Go through them, answer honestly, and then spend time with your answers to see what comes up for you.

1. How fulfilled am I in my work?
2. What brings me joy in doing this work?
3. What are the barriers in the work I’m doing that prevent me from having total fulfillment in it?
4. If I didn’t have any more resources than what I have now, will I be able to carry out my work in a meaningful way and be successful?  In other words, do I have enough?
5. Am I communicating up correctly to get what I need to be successful? If not, why?
6. Do I feel like I have balance between work and home? What would it take to get in balance?
7. Do I like my colleagues, my manager, my donors?
8. Am I excited to help fulfill the mission of my organization? If not, what would it take to be excited?
9. Do I feel I’m progressing in my profession? Do I want to progress in it or move on?
10. Do I want to continue to engage at a deeper level with my organization? Or, do I need to leave it?

Those are 10 questions (with some follow up ones) that can help you start the process of self-reflection, and I think that would be an excellent way to start your year. I would love to hear from you about what you learned going through this exercise.

I believe ultimately, spending time with these questions will help you be a better, more fulfilled fundraiser and be more present with your donors.

Jeff