Life-Reviews are often done in hospice care but are becoming more common in therapy, no matter the client’s age or health. In fact, many therapists advocate doing a Life-Review throughout your life. And while not a therapist, I recommend doing them to help identify your current goals (or aspirations) and fine-tune your focus on what is truly important to you — at this stage and time in your life.
And no matter what you think now, what you value and your aspirations will change with time and the vicissitudes of your life. We all have regrets. But we also all have victories and accomplishments. A Life-Review helps you be grateful and learn from your mistakes and refocus on what you want to do with your remaining future.
So after an unexpected health issue reminded me of my age, several friends died or suffered their own life-changing health issues, and we went through the pandemic, I did some research — and my own Life-Review. It was painful. It was delightful. It was humbling. And it was eye-opening. (And it’s one of the reasons I revived this site and blog.)
My research found that there was no single set of Life-Review questions, but there were several common ones. To these, I added a few twists of my own based on a Japanese cult film (“After Life,” available from the Criterion Collection) and conversations with several professionals and other people who’d done the exercise. Below is a link to the Life-Review Workbook I created.
Click here to download the Life-Review Workbook.
I hope you find it helpful and enlightening.
