EPISODE 017: Ending the Year on a Positive Note

Welcome to the last episode of the year! It’s crazy to think that there are only a few more days left in 2020. You guys we made it to the end of 2020.

Wow, what a year. Understatement of the century for sure. 2020 was a hard for the majority of us and I know as it is coming to a close that you are looking forward to it ending already. You just want  To closing the book, and never looking back. You just want out- you just want to move on. 

I get it because I’ve closed out a hard year before. I mean, we’ve all had years that are more difficult than others, but this one is unique because 2020 has been a collective experience. Yes we all went through our own individual experiences- but we collectively shared in the same worldwide pandemic causing us stress, pain, anxiety, and unknown. We’ve had that in common- we’ve all had a “hard year” and we are all ready for it to end.

But because my purpose here is to help you live in and create a happy and positive life experience I don’t want you closing this year on a bad note. And because I went through a year that almost killed me in 2019 I want to offer some insight and personal experience in how to close out a year that’s been trying and filled with so much stress and anxiety and do it in a way that leaves you feeling peace with walking away from 2020 and hope in moving on to a new year. 

As I said, 2019 about killed me. It about killed us. Oh gosh, the anxiety and panic attacks I felt on a daily basis were insane. Without getting too much into it right now we had a lot of unknowns surrounding my husbands employment.  And our income was basically cut almost in half of what we needed it to be in order to keep up with all our obligations. So yeah…..stressful.

By the end of the year we were shocked we were still standing. I remember seeing a fun little challenge going around that said describe 2019 in three words and all I could think was WHAT THE F***.  I was so ready to just walk away- and with the promise of a new year and a new decade- I was more than ready. 

But I also knew that I didn’t want to leave the year feeling negative. It just didn’t feel right to me.  Yes, it was hard and yes I NEVER wanted to experience that again, but I also believed deep down that it had purpose if I let it, and that I got to choose what the purpose was. 

I had learned a really good lesson in asking questions that year and that when you ask better questions you get better answers

So instead of asking what the f*** or why is this happening or when is this going to end…..because those answers to those questions weren't going to be helpful , 

I had to start asking better questions: the trick is to ask HOW instead of WHY

How can I use this to propel me,  how am I stronger because of this ? How Can I help others going through the same thing? How can I take from this and make it into something that serves us. How can I feel better? 

Asking questions that empower you is key to moving forward. It’s key to getting up off the floor where you’ve been bawling (cause i was) and figuring out how to keep living- and how to create the life you actually want to live….

So as this year is ending and the promise of a new year is on the horizon I want to share

5 steps to ending the year right and preparing yourself for the new year: 

1. Acknowledge and give space to the hard. - hard things happened this year and instead of just running away from it. Give it space, process, cry, look back and think Holy $hit I can’t believe that happened.

2. Notice the good things ( no matter how small they are) Even in hard years there are bits of good- no matter how small. It’s good to honor the things that broke you and also to honor that there was joy and goodness. 

3. Recognize how you responded- give yourself credit for the things you did well and  grace for the things you wished you had done differently. 

4. Practice Gratitude- like I always say, GRATITUDE is the quickest way to shift your mood and vibration. It’s a practice I use daily, but especially at the end of a year.

5. Close and Release - Once you’ve looked back, reviewed, and gotten grateful it time for that closure. Thank 2020 for what it’s given you and now you can walk into 2021 with peace and a hopeful positive outlook on the future.

Take the next few days this week to journal, meditate, review and reflect on the year. You made it through and I am so proud of you. You are so much stronger than you were last January. You have grown so much. As this new year approaches we don’t know what it will bring, but we do know that we have a choice in how we show up each day. 2020 was a year for the books- and the lessons we got from this year will surely be used in the future. The future is bright and full of so much possibility and I cannot wait to experience it with you. Thanks for being here and for committing to becoming the best and most positive version of you- SEE YA in 2021!