A trapeze artist cannot swing from one bar to another without letting go.  An important part of preparing for the New Year is to review the year past…to release it…and to learn from it.  To go where you wish to go, and become who you wish to be, you’ll need to know where you are and who you are now.  An honest self-analysis is always helpful to gain clarity.  As you end the year it seems particularly fitting to devote some time to reflect on the year past and where you see yourself as the New Year dawns.

The following questions should stimulate your thinking for this process.  Hopefully, you’ll take time from your busy schedule this holiday season to ponder where you are and where you’ve been.  Initiate discussions with people you care about.  Write out your thoughts and feelings.  Do more note-taking in your Breakthroughs Journal.  Consider writing a letter…a turn-of-the-year-epistle, if you will…to yourself.  It may well prove to be profound for you to write it…and even more valuable to read and re-read in the years ahead.  Take time to reflect upon what you did, how you felt, what you liked, what you didn’t…and what you learned.  Look at yourself and your experiences with as much objectivity as you can…much like a biographer would.

Here are some suggestions to get you started in mulling over the past year.  Feel free to add your own:

Consider listing all the things in your life you would like to let go of…anything you no longer want, whether they be things or feelings, friends or beliefs.  Give thanks for what they’ve brought you, in terms of learning and usefulness, and then burn or crumple the list.  This symbolic gesture will help you release the old and become more open to the new.

• What did I learn? (skills, knowledge, awareness gained, etc.)

• What did I accomplish?  A list of my wins and achievements.

• What would I have done differently?  Why?

• What did I complete or release?  What still feels incomplete to me?

• What were the most significant events of the year past?  List the top five.

• What did I do right?

• What do I feel especially good about?

• What was my greatest contribution?

• What were the fun things I did?

• What were the not-so-fun?

• What were my biggest challenges/roadblocks/difficulties?

• How am I different this year than last?

• What am I particularly grateful for?

The next step is to list what you do want…experiences, knowledge, material things, relationships, healings, and so on.  In doing this, you’ll be using the principle of vacuum…releasing what you don’t want and embracing what you do creates space for new things, things to be attracted into your reality…people and ideas as well.  There’s little doubt that anything you can do to make this end-of-the-year-event more dramatic in terms of your own personal and spiritual growth will make it all the more valuable.

You can then review your notes with regard to the direction and emphasis for the coming New Year.

Make it a great New Year by ending this one well! To your success!