There is something special about the switch from one year to another. As someone who really doesn’t enjoy Christmas, I look forward to New Years Eve – which is my favourite holiday. Every year I take part in reflecting on the last year, and visioning for the upcoming year. It seems like a bit of a clean slate – a time of dreaming, hope, and ambition.
I approach this all with the heart of self-compassion, and the desire to always improve and grow as a human being. I reflect on what went well, what didn’t go so well, and everything in between. Year over year, I can see different progress and changes that I have made but also
how I cope with the not-so-positive, challenging parts of life. The “closing” of 2023 is an important gift to myself in that I find a way to move through the lessons of the year. There have been years where my closing ceremony involves burning “grievances” (in a fire proof bowl, outside, and with water to put out fires as needed) or rather just speaking them out loud. But it allows me to thank previous experiences for what I learned from them, but also say good riddance. For 2023, I haven’t decided how to close my year but it will be in alignment with my word/phrase of the year – Be Brave. It is a very personal and private ceremony for myself.
After closing 2023, I will imagine and plan for 2024. Some pieces that are important to me are – finding a new word of the year and setting goals. Some years the new word comes to me very clearly and others it takes more purposeful journaling and exploration. Ultimately, the word of the year is something that I come back to when making decisions, or thinking about what has gone on. After I plan a word for the year, I do set some goals – usually 3-5 goals plus one for how many books
I’m going to read (likely a goal of 100, as this is the second year in a row I haven’t quite achieved my goal). When writing goals I want to make them measurable but also something that I have some control over. Within the 3-5, at least 1 of the goals will be so bold, ambitious and big that even coming close to it, is a big deal. For me, goal setting is about the process of working towards things that we want, and taking a look at goals for 2024 will be a process of revisioning the future.
This all will take place for me through the end of December, and into the first week of January. NYE will host spending time with friends and starting the year in a good way.
To guide you, if you are wanting to incorporate some closing, and welcoming of the new year, I have created a workbook that will take you through parts of the process I have used. The counsellors at Breland Counselling can also help in the area of goal-setting and rewriting narratives about yourself.
I wish you the best end to 2023, and an amazing 2024!
