As the end of another year approaches many people start to think about what they want to create for the coming year.  Looking back and reflecting on your last year will help you to move forward in the right direction. This is an important annual ritual for many of the following reasons:

• In order to embrace the new, we must release the old. As we move forward in life, we need to let go of some things in order to have the space for new stuff to show up. Our movement forward can be slowed down by our loose ends.
• Affirms learning.When we take time to review our key learning, it helps to entrench that learning within our brain. Repetition and reward help to strengthen neural pathways, and will increase the likelihood of creating healthy habits
• Confirms direction. To get to where we want to go, we have to slow down and get our location to make sure we are headed in the right direction. As we move towards our dreams and goals, direction is often far more important than speed.
• Chance to disrupt confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is when we believe the world is a certain way and only look for evidence to support those beliefs. I hear so many people at the end of the year saying “Hope next year is better than this one. I can’t wait for this year to be over.” Is every year really that bad? Snap out of Eeyore mode and complete the highlights portion and see that great things also happened even if the year was challenging.
• Gratitude and Law of attraction. Gratitude increases our overall joy and life satisfaction. The Law of Attraction states that we attract more of what we focus on, so focusing on our wins and being grateful for them increases our likelihood of creating more of the same.
• Enhance your relationship with yourself. When we take time for ourselves, we affirm our value. We can move forward with more self knowledge, a deeper understanding of ourselves and deep sense of our own worth.
• Consciously plan for your next year!Now that you have evaluated what’s working and what isn’t, what do you want your next year to be about?

Use these two pages as a guide to complete and celebrate the end of the year and create an intention for what you want in the coming year.

Author: Christina Bianchini RPC, MPCC