Article written by Likeleli M. Monyamane.

What does “take stock” mean:

During an audit project we would periodically have “taking stock meetings” during which each person would give an update on what they are busy with, what challenges/findings they had made and what their plan was for the next few days. This is a very important part of the whole audit process as it keeps everyone up to date with how the project is progressing and also allows the project manager to make any necessary changes and adjustments to the audit strategy when the need arises.

why am I blogging about auditing?

Because “taking stock” is a principle I like to apply in my life, especially at this time of the year.

I like to use the last days of the year to reflect, not only on the past year but on my past in general.

I reflect on how it has shaped me, on how I have grown from it all, on the goals I had set for myself and on how I’m progressing on those goals.

During my “taking stock” sessions I make sure to spend 5% reflecting on the past, 10% reflecting on the present and 85% of the time looking ahead and using what I have learned from my reflections on the past and the present to map out my desired future. The reason why I spend such little time reflecting on the past is because no matter how good or bad the past has been, there is absolutely nothing I can do to change it, and there’s also very little I can do to change the present.

However, the vision I have for my future will determine what immediate action I will take after my reflections and also affect the decisions I make going forward. So I find it more important to spend time focusing on the future while not ignoring the past and the present. This self-reflection has been really important in my growth as a person and in my self-awareness and it has helped me to always be aware of how I am progressing against the goals that I have set for myself. Beyond that it has helped me to locate myself and to bring myself back to my path where I may have began to deviate from it. “Reflecting, looking back so that your view looking forward may be even clearer” unknown.

I know that because of people’s different personalities, reflecting may be easier to do for some people than for others, but I’d like to encourage you to set aside some time to take stock of your life to enable you to be aware of the state of your life and to take charge and ownership of it.