Editor’s Note: Beyond the Traditional New Year’s Wishes
Usually, when summarizing the year, we tend to focus on negative moments, emphasizing how much we haven’t accomplished, concentrating on failures and losses. This doesn’t add motivation for the new year. While ignoring failures isn’t wise, analyzing them and drawing the right conclusions is the correct approach. So, ask yourself the right questions:
Tasks you managed to accomplish this year
New knowledge and skills you acquired
People you met. Which of them have influenced your life?
Important moments that occurred
What you’re grateful to yourself for
What you’re proud of
Which moments brought the most joy or satisfaction?
Divide your achievements into three categories:
Achievements that made me happy
Mistakes I learned from
Events that made me grow as a person
Before setting new goals, review your previous ones. Ask yourself if they were realistic? Often, we plan things for which we don’t have the strength, energy, or resources. And at the end of the year, we criticize ourselves for not achieving what was planned. But were your plans truly realistic?
What hindered their achievement? And how can I adapt my plans to the current situation in life?
Also – set small and specific goals. If the goal is big – break it down into small and clear steps.
For example, “strengthening immunity” means: exercising twice a week, taking evening walks in fresh air, swimming once a week, etc.
The New Year is more about new habits. Most things we do daily are on autopilot. So a useful habit for our mental health will be the skill of noticing details around us. This will distract from negative thoughts and scenarios, providing a sense of calm and security. The main “enemies” of a person are thoughts about the past and fears about the future. So staying in the moment, at least sometimes, adds a sense of stability in our chaotic pace of life.
Inna Yakimenko