The last month of the year can be an overwhelming time. We are trying to complete last minute shopping, look cheerful while gathering with family and friends, and shop for the best priced items.

This creates stress as we juggle to fulfill our own and other people expectations of how to make this time of the year the most wonderful time. How can we create a happy end of the year?

The first step to create a happy end of the year is to take care of yourself. If you are happy, you will spread the cheer to everyone around you. Make sure you schedule some time for yourself to reflect on all your accomplishments, learn from what did not go so well, and launch into an exciting new year.

Instead of focusing on what you have to do, set aside some time to take stock of everything you have achieved during the past year and your intentions for next year.

Achievement

Write down what you have accomplished during this year. If you don’t take the time to think about everything that went well during the year you’ll have the feeling of trying to reach an impossible, ideal future that is always slipping through your fingers.

Acknowledging what went well during the year gives you a big picture of good decisions you made and how you are moving forward toward achieving your goals. If you are confronted with making difficult decisions here are some useful tips.

Make a list of at least 10 accomplishments. Notice that the more you focus on what went well, the more will come to your mind. What was your biggest accomplishment? What are you most proud of?

Evaluate your progress toward your goals and feel great about everything you’ve accomplished this year.

Noticing everything that went well during this year will help you feel more confident toward creating goals that are aligned with feelings of happiness.

Learning Experiences

There are no failures in our life, just learning experiences. What did you learn during this year?

Keep in mind that you did the best you could given your particular circumstances. Embrace all the experiences. Congratulate yourself for having tried something new or different even if it did not turn out as expected.

It takes courage to get out of your comfort zone and experiment with a different look, attitude, or approach. Learn from what did not work out. What can you do differently next time?

If we know what did not work, we will come up with new ideas to try out. These new possibilities will help us create a happy end of the year because we will embrace our experiences and use them as building blocks toward where we want to go.

Envision the New Year

Close your eyes, and imagine your best year ever. What do you intend to accomplish in your:

• Relationships: Who are the people you want to spend more or less time with? Are there any actions you can take to improve your relationships with people you love?
• Health: What actions will make you feel good about your body? Is there any specific food you need to include or exclude from your diet? What would make you feel more energetic?
• Work: What new skills would make you feel better at work? What is your overall feeling about your work or job? Do you feel satisfied with your job? Does your work add meaning to your life? How can you find new meaning in what you do?
• Me Time: How would you like to relax and spend your free time? How could you better relax? How could you make it more energizing?

Clarify your vision of what you truly want to experience in the different areas of your life. Make sure that your goals are aligned with your feelings of happiness and joy.

Write it Down. When you put your vision in writing your mind will start working on finding strategies on how to make it happen. You also will clarify what your ideal life looks like.

Start Now. What could you do today to make the transition into the new year easier? Don’t pile up all your expectations for January 1st, start right now with simple actions to prepare for the upcoming year. Start your New Year Resolutions right now.

Benefits of Creating a Happy End of the Year

Taking some time to look back and reflect on our past year accomplishments and learning experiences will provide insightful information about what actions to take next to move closer to the life we want to create.

Many times we get caught in our everyday busyness of completing mindless tasks that we forget to look at the big picture of our life.

Are you on the right path? Do you need to do more of what you are doing? Do you need to do less or do you need to try something different?

Embrace everything that happened to you during the last months. Forgive yourself and others for mistakes. We all do the best we can given our circumstances. Let go of hurtful experiences that cannot be changed. Keeping negative experiences fresh in our mind only  anchors negative situations in our memory and in our life. Let them go and create space for new positive experiences.

Learning and then clearing negative experiences from our mind, allows for a fresh start at any time of the year. It creates the space for envisioning and creating new intentions for the next year.

Get paper and pen and start to create a happy end of the year for yourself and your loved ones.