How to sum up the past year and start a new life
Summing up the results of the year, whether it is the calendar year on December 31 or the personal year on your birthday, has become an important tradition for many.
Expert Elena Klen , clinical psychologist, cognitive-behavioral therapist, member of the Association of Psychotherapists, expert of the online school "Psychodemy" told how to sum up the results of the past year.
However, often such a year-end does not help, but on the contrary, hinders the achievement of goals and prevents a new life. Let's figure out why this happens and how to correctly sum up the year.
To begin with, I suggest we abandon the concept of a "new life". After all, life does not start anew, it continues. And there were good moments in the past years.
The "all or nothing" idea can completely kill motivation and prevent you from growing and developing.
Why does this happen?
The thing is that in reality it is impossible to be born again. Years go by, our experience is not interrupted. And in the new year there will definitely be quite a lot of things from the past left.
It turns out that we are deliberately dooming ourselves to failure. "Either a new life, or nothing!" And since a new life will not begin, it turns out that we no longer want to try.
Instead, you can think about what you want to continue in the new year, what you want to leave behind. And what you want to get rid of. This approach will allow you to look at things realistically and analyze past experiences.
Don't forget about your achievements. Focusing on failures has a detrimental effect on future achievements. Ask yourself, what are you proud of? What did you manage to do last year? Take the time to do this, forbid yourself the answer "nothing" (it is unrealistic), write down at least a few points.
Pay attention to your surroundings. Try to remember who you managed to meet in the past year. Who inspires you, with whom you feel comfortable. Sometimes we do not notice how much those around us influence us and our motivation.
Focus on values. Think about which areas of life are most relevant for you to implement now. Remember that it is unrealistic to implement all plans and tasks at the same time. Choose the areas that are important to focus on first, what changes in these areas you would like. And most importantly - what will help you and what will hinder your implementation.
Look to the future. Ask yourself, “What do I wish for myself in the new year?” It’s important to leave yourself space to achieve your goals, even if it’s hard to come up with a plan to achieve them.
And remember, you don't need to rush straight away. Take a rest after the holiday, look around. You've already built a vector, analyzed your experience.
Trust yourself and act in accordance with your values, rather than chasing empty productivity.
