But what if the entire framework is wrong? What if the problem isn’t lack of follow-through or insufficient discipline, but a fundamental misunderstanding about what the turn of the year actually offers?

The Romans had a different approach to year-end reflection. They called it “recensio,” which translates roughly as “taking account” or “examination.” But this wasn’t accounting of failures and successes. It was accounting of understanding. What did the year teach about the nature of reality? About human behavior? About what actually sustains a meaningful life versus what just looks impressive from the outside?

This kind of reflection doesn’t produce ambitious goals for self-transformation. It produces clarity about what matters, what doesn’t, and what needs to change not because it will make someone impressive but because the current path leads nowhere worth going.