Out with the Old, In with the New

I love the week between Christmas and New Year’s. There’s a “coming down” of sorts after all the shopping, running around, and emotional roller coasters. It’s a quiet-ish time that allows me to reflect and project.

All around, I can feel potential and possibility. For many, however, there can also be a feeling of pressure. Kicking off the New Year under pressure is a surefire way to set yourself up for challenges. That’s why I don’t subscribe to the idea of resolutions. Last year, I shared my end-of-year ritual and my approach to the coming year. You can read all about that here. You’ll see that I take stock of my successes and wins over the past year, which makes thinking about the New Year much more exciting.

Here’s a cheat sheet to help you review 2013 and plan for 2014:

1. List 25 accomplishments, big and small, from 2013. Yes, 25. This will get you to think far and wide.
2. Reflect on a time last year when you were really happy. Try and put yourself back in that moment. What were you doing? Who were you with? What about that moment filled you up?
3. Give equal time to any rough patches or challenges from 2013. In looking back, what did you learn from these bumps?
4. What worked well for you this year? Maybe you left more white space in your calendar. What didn’t? Perhaps you could’ve used some more boundaries in your relationships.
5. What do you want to leave behind in 2013? Consider making a list and ceremoniously burning it to say farewell.
6. What would you like to have more of in 2014? A fun New Year’s Eve project is to create a dream board collage with magazine clippings that represent what you’d like to manifest in the New Year.
7. What fun, new adventures would you like to try?  This can be anything! Speaking in public? Snowshoeing? Karaoke? Taking your laptop to a café and working remotely?
8. Draft a plan of action. In thinking about what you’d like to work on in the New Year, brainstorm specific steps you can take to move toward that goal. Be careful not to leave your intention as a broad pursuit. With no ideas for action, you’re likely to never get started.
9. Think about how can you be kinder to yourself in 2014. Try to respond to negative inner chatter with reassurance and love.
10. Brainstorm a list of things you could do to take exceptional care of your sweet, inner child. My list includes things like taking baths, walking on the beach, even in winter, doing art, singing along with my favorite songs, practice disappointing people (yup, you read that right), and using great smelling hand lotion.

For support with your changes in the new year, check out my past post on Tips to Making Change Stick.

To quote Ferris Bueller, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

I’d love to hear what you see as you stop to look around. Let’s keep the conversation going in the comments below. How do you plan to ring in the New Year? What are some of your 2013 successes?

Photo credit