A little healthy habit for the year to year transition

In a few days we transition from 2024 into 2025, a moment that we often await with big expectations. A new year full of opportunities. Today I share my favourite little healthy habit for the year to year transition.

This New Year’s Eve practice helps me to close my current year as gratefully and mindfully as possible and create space for the new year. And I hope this year it will do the same for you. I think almost everyone takes a moment just before or on new year’s eve to reflect on the current year, and wish for something in the new year. As you already do that anyways, I encourage you to sit down, and take a moment to reflect, to go mentally through every month, your personal highlights and experiences. I personally do this exercise on the 31st of December but you decide your favourite moment.
Tell your mind to think about every area of your life: Your health & routines, your personal development and important learnings, your relationship with yourself and others, your professional development and new skills, your passions and hobbies, your financial development and goals, how you have contributed to your community or important causes and whichever area might be important for you. Then close your eyes, connect to the current year and look at it as if you were watching a movie. What does it feel like? What do you see? What are you proud of? What are areas for learning and development? What would you like to come true in the new year?
Take a pen and 3 sheets of paper:

• On the first sheet: Write down 5 things you are grateful for this year. This can be (a) person(s), situation(s), learning(s), personal milestone(s), change(s) or decision(s) that improved an area in your life or whatever you are thinking about. And it doesn’t have to be the “top 5”. Write down what comes to mind first. You can write 5 words or 5 full sentences – whatever you prefer! And I recommend you to keep this paper somewhere to be able to look at it again.
  (In my case: I usually write about in full sentences.)
  
  
• On the second sheet: Write down 5 things you want to leave in this year. Again this can be (a) person(s), thing(s) that maybe didn’t go so well or situation(s) you learnt from but you don’t want to repeat anymore. Some word(s) or sentence(s) or what you have chosen might match with the first paper. It doesn’t matter. They have contributed to where you are today and they’ve been part of your process and probably you are grateful some of them happened. But the intention is to leave them in 2024 and say “thank you and goodbye” now. My personal recommendation is to look at your list, read it a few times (You can also say out loud: “Thank you for all the learnings this year, I’m leaving you all here”), and then rip the paper or burn it. It’s a nice closing.
  
  
• On the third sheet: Write down 5 things you wish for the new year. Anything is allowed. Be creative, optimistic, confident and dream big. This is not a SMART goal setting exercise. This is an idea or vision full of hope and the best energy, this is what is in your heart and soul and what you now bring on paper. Look at it and open up to it. Open up to the possibility that these words can come true! You might not reach your dream scenario in 2025 but you are setting the base in the new year and your deepest hopes are allowed to be written down, to “see the world”. Read your words out loud, believe them, embrace them and save the paper to look at it at the end of next year. You will be amazed!

I still have my gratitude and wish sheets from the 31st of December 2023 and as I’ve looked at it these days, I’ve been positively surprised by how many things came true in 2024. On some things I’m still working but I’ve laid the base for them this year and I will write them down again on the 31st of December, with all my learnings. So of course some words or dreams might change, some aspects transform – because we are human beings in constant movement and development. The idea of this exercise is not to put your mind or idea “into stone”, it’s not an action or business plan. For me, it’s a little “closing and beginning ceremony” that helps to become aware of the present moment, of our own development and prepares ourselves, our mind, body and spirit for the new year’s energy. And yes: It’s a new year full of opportunities. I wish you all the best for the next days, for your transition and for 2025, especially health, love and a portion of optimism!

PD: I would love it if this or a similar exercise also became your little healthy habit for your year to year transition.
PPD: Please feel free to share your own experience in the comments or if you have another practice you recommend.
THANK YOU for being part of this community.