Parents, students, counselors, and other readers here, as you look back on your 2014, what worked?

Maybe it was a project that was even more successful than you’d imagined? Maybe it was a goal you were proud to reach, a change you made that improved your life, a success that took you some place you wanted to go, or an experience that made you particularly happy and content?

Put more directly—what worked in 2014?

New Year’s resolutions often spring from a rigorous examination of what’s not working in our lives. But while there’s real value in making positive changes and eliminating bad or unhealthy habits, why not do an equally rigorous examination of what worked? It’s easier to repeat something once you know you can do it.

I’m not suggesting that you should just repeat everything that worked. But if you take the time to examine what made things work in those cases, you can create those same circumstances or repeat those same habits in other areas of your life.

Maybe the successful project happened because you trimmed away distractions? Maybe you reached a goal because you weren’t afraid to ask for help and advice along the way? Maybe you made the change in your life because you asked a friend to keep you accountable? Maybe your success came when you were working on something not because it would look good on your resume, but because it really mattered to you? Maybe the wonderful experience took place when you let yourself do something new without the fear of failure?

Before you resolve to make big changes, take the time to examine what worked. Think hard about the effort, circumstances, or other factors that put those parts of 2014 on your list.

It’s healthy and fun to look back on the great parts of your year. And learning from those experiences will lead to an even longer list of “Things that Worked in 2015.”