The last days before the start of the New Year have a magical and sacred quality to them. I appreciate the lull in activity that often takes place and the opportunity we have to reflect back on the year that is ending, as well as to create new possibilities and intentions for the year that's about to start. It often seems more exciting to focus on our "resolutions" for the coming year than it does to look back. However, before we jump ahead and start making our goals for next year, it's essential that we complete the year that is about to end consciously.
As much as I personally love this completion process, I usually have mixed emotions reflecting back on the year. There is often excitement, gratitude and joy for all of the wonderful accomplishments, experiences, insights and more. There is also sadness, disappointment and sorrow over the things that I didn't accomplish, the people and things I'll miss and the places in my life where I struggled or failed.
This is as true as ever as 2010 comes to a close. This past year I've experienced some really big highs and some painful lows. I'm truly grateful for all that I've learned and experienced. And, while I have lots to appreciate from this past year, I'm also glad to see it end! How about you?
Due to the common mixture of emotions we experience, and especially with a year like 2010, which created a lot of growth opportunities for most of the people I know and work with, it's essential that we embrace and practice the art of completion. Completion is a conscious process we engage in whereby we do and say whatever we need to in order to create a true sense of closure to an experience (in this case, the year that is about to end).
Because we often have resistance to authentically celebrating and appreciating ourselves, reflecting honestly on our accomplishments or our failures, acknowledging our real results or lack thereof, grieving loss with depth, and more, we usually just roll through the end of things and either avoid completion altogether or move on to the next thing as fast as we can. When we do this, however, we miss out on a sacred and important process.
Completion allows us to bring things to a close with a sense of gratitude, reverence and peace. When we allow ourselves to experience a sense of true completion, we move into the next phase of life bringing with us the gifts, lessons, accomplishments, experiences and more from what we've just been through. When we don't take the time to truly complete something, we end up carrying baggage, regrets, fear and unresolved issues into our next experience. These things don't serve us and often end up undermining our success and fulfillment.
As we get ready for 2011 and begin to think specifically about what we want to create and experience in the New Year, one of the most important things we can do is to complete 2010 in a conscious and powerful way.
Completion Questions
Here are some questions you can ask and answer yourself, as a way to create a sense of completion for 2010:
As you take some time to think about and write down your answers to these questions, see if you can reflect on this past year with a sense of appreciation and empathy. The word "appreciate" means to recognize the value of something (but not necessarily like it, agree with it or want to experience it again). Whether your year was "wonderful," "terrible" or somewhere in between, we each have so much we can appreciate about this past year. And, it's important for us to have as much empathy as we possibly can for ourselves (and those around us), especially right now.
If you're anything like me, you probably had some big failures or disappointments this past year. When we can remember that we almost always do the best we can with what we have in each moment of our lives, we can hopefully let go of our feelings of shame, guilt or embarrassment over any of the things that didn't go as planned for us in 2010. Furthermore, you probably had some incredible things happen in your life this past year, as well. It's important that we acknowledge ourselves for all of it -- the highs and the lows.
See if you can create some sacred time in the next few days to share your answers to these completion questions with some of the important people in your life (and maybe ask them to answer these questions, as well). By creating a conscious intention for completion, you will give yourself the gift of appreciation for this past year and, in so doing, allow a space to open up in which you can create your goals and intentions for 2011 with a sense of peace, power and clarity. Moreover, as you ponder these questions, you may realize that there is something important you want to do or say in order to leave 2010 behind and step into 2011 with freedom and passion.
Have fun with this, and congratulations on completing another year of this magical, bizarre, wonderful adventure we call life -- what a ride!
Mike Robbins is a sought-after motivational keynote speaker, coach and the bestselling author of "Focus on the Good Stuff" (Wiley) and "Be Yourself, Everyone Else Is Already Taken" (Wiley). For more information, please visit www.Mike-Robbins.com.
Follow Mike Robbins on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mikedrobbins
Douglas LaBier: How to Evolve in Your Lifetime
I love that you wrote that, Mike. Most people I know are so excited about getting the old year behind and moved on to the next that I think they miss exactly that.
Kudos on a great post :)
Anastacia
but i always have that hope .....for a brand new year.
Thanks for this post and the questions and I'm gratefully working on closure, this last day of the year. I never needed it as I do now.
Have a great beginning in 2011!
Cheers
My intention for 2011 is to TRUST life more despite the fact that many things may not turn out the way i expect or want.
May this New Year find you complete, clear, and in full receivership of all that is meaningful to your heart,
Cara
SO true! I do this ritual every year - before setting my intentions (NOT resolutions) for the upcoming year. It is a very powerful process and one that really sets the stage for being clear on what you want to bring into the new year. This is a great process I share with my clients as well - keep up the great work!
Tricia
Peace and blessings, joy and prosperity to you and yours today, and in the Coming New Year,
Cara