Saying Goodbye to 2020 and 3 Tips for Setting Intentions for the New Year

Saying Goodbye to 2020 and Welcoming the New Year with Journaling & Intention Setting

With 2020 coming to a close and the new year beginning in the coming days, a lot of us find ourselves creating New Year’s resolutions and making plans for how we want this year to unfold for us. If there is one thing that this past year has taught me it’s that life throws curve balls at us and we can only do so much planning.

While I find setting intentions and making goals to be really beneficial, I think that reflecting on this banner year that is now coming to a close will provide us with important insights and serve as a powerful way to bring 2020 to an end and start a new chapter in 2021.

At the end of each year I enjoy setting aside time to create a ritual around reflecting on the past year through meditation and journaling. I have outlined my favorite End of the Year Reflection Ritual that provides me with a deep sense of clarity on the ways in which I have grown and changed over the last year. I find that honoring our past experiences, whether they be positive or negative can help us create a better tomorrow by remembering the lessons we have learned to help us move forward with greater clarity and purpose.

End of the Year Reflection Ritual with Journaling Prompts

Sit in a quiet place free from distraction. Light your favorite candle or incense and create a comfortable space with some of your favorite sacred objects. Get in a comfortable seat or lie down, close your eyes and begin to quiet your mind for a few minutes by breathing deeply and focusing on your breath as best as you can. You could do this for a couple of minutes or for as long as you would like.

After you feel more relaxed and clear minded you can begin journaling in your favorite notebook either with the prompts I have listed below or whatever you feel called to write about. I recommend saving what you write so you can look at it next year for even further reflection.

-In what ways have I grown this year?

-What has changed the most for me over the past year?

-In what ways am I the most proud of myself?

-What are my favorite moments from this year?

-What lessons and experiences am I grateful for?

-What am I most excited about for next year?

After you are done journaling, you can complete your ritual by taking a piece of scrap paper and writing down three things you would like to let go of. This can be anything from habits you would like to change to negative experiences from the past year that have been weighing on you.

Safely burn the paper until it turns to ashes to symbolize the ending of one chapter and beginning of a new one. Other alternatives to burning your paper are shredding it, freezing it, submerging it in water or any other method that resonates with you to symbolize letting go of what you wrote on the paper.

Three Tips for Setting Intentions for the New Year

It can be so tempting for us to try to change our lives overnight with the start of the new year. And oftentimes we feel let down by ourselves for not being able to stick to our New Year's resolutions. I think we need to be easy on ourselves and instead of trying to drastically change our lives all in one day, we can try implementing our goals and intentions slowly as the year progresses.

I can’t tell you how many times I have written a long list of goals for the new year that I only end up sticking with for the month of January and then feel bad about myself for not being able to follow through on my resolutions. Instead, I believe we should be easier on ourselves.

Set goals, yes but not expect ourselves to accomplish them right away and to make slow and steady changes that will yield long lasting results. Here are three tips for setting intentions in a way that is kind to ourselves with the goal of creating lasting positive change.

1. Revisit Your Intentions Monthly and Allow for Changes in Your Original Plan

Life is always changing and often takes us in unexpected directions. It’s great to honor the intentions you made at the beginning of the year but don’t be afraid to change and adjust them as the year progresses and allow space for you to grow and evolve as well. Revisiting your goals monthly is a helpful way to stay mindful of your long-term aspirations without putting toomuch pressure on yourself to stick to exactly what you wrote at the beginning of the year.

2. If You Set an Intention or Goal that Feels Out of Reach, Focus on the First Steps No

Matter How Small They Might Be

Sometimes I think we forget to acknowledge how important the small steps are in

achieving our biggest aspirations. We have to remind ourselves that it’s impossible to know

what each leg of the journey towards our dream is going to be, but starting with one pivot

toward the direction we want to go in can yield even better results than we could have

imagined. Focus on the first small step toward your goal and allow the rest to unfold along the

way.

3. Focus on the Feeling Rather Than the End Goal

We spend our whole lives chasing things that we believe will make us feel happy or

accomplished. Whether that be finding the right relationship, the perfect job, or earning our

desired income, we tend to be so focused on the goal rather than the journey that it takes to

get there that we forget to acknowledge how we want to feel at the end of the day. I often find

that when I set an intention that what I am actually seeking is not just a material thing or an

accomplishment, it’s the feeling of peace or joy that I believe would accompany reaching that

goal.

Try setting an intention that focuses on how you want to feel in the new year rather

than what you want to do. You could consider intentions such as, I want to feel more at ease, I

want to appreciate each day, or I want to feel comfortable in my own skin. See what resonates

with you and try putting your focus on the state of being you want to be in rather than what

you want to accomplish.

As much as we all want 2020 to be a thing of the past, I think that this year has provided

us with a wealth of knowledge. No matter what you personally experienced over the past year,

I think we have all learned a lot about ourselves and what we are capable of.

We have all learned how to adapt to a different way of life due to the COVID-19

pandemic and I think we should each take a moment to recognize that, acknowledge how

challenging it has been and honor how far we have come. It has not been an easy year, so I

think we should take the time to show appreciation for ourselves and how we have each

learned to cope through the difficulty and uncertainty that this year has brought upon us.

Yes, we should look ahead to sunnier skies and hope for a better tomorrow in the year

2021, but before that can happen we should take the time to reflect upon the lessons we have

learned and the ways in which we have grown and aim to show ourselves more love for all that

we are and all that we have been through in the year 2020.