5 Mindful Practices to Wind Down Your Year and Start the New Year with Balance
Dec 11, 2024
As the year draws to a close, I find myself reflecting on the goals I set, the progress I made, and, yes, sometimes even the things I didn’t accomplish. One memorable memory is my conversation with a client just a few days ago. She was feeling overwhelmed, trying to wrap up projects at work while managing family responsibilities and the inevitable hustle and bustle that comes with the end of the year.
She said, "I feel like I’m racing against time, trying to fit everything in before the year ends. It’s exhausting, and it feels like I’m never truly present for any of it." That sentiment is all too familiar for many of us. The rush to finish strong often leaves us frazzled, stretched too thin, and disconnected from the present moment.
But what if we approached the end of the year differently? What if instead of racing toward some imagined finish line, we slowed down, embraced mindfulness, and allowed ourselves to reflect and recharge? That’s precisely what I suggested to her and what I practice myself every year. By focusing on mindfulness, self-reflection, and intentional planning, you can create space to wind down the year and set a balanced foundation for the next one.
Below, I share five powerful practices that can help you end the year with calm and clarity and begin the new year with intention and balance.
1. Mindful Reflection: Look Back to Move Forward
As a psychologist, I’ve seen firsthand how powerful self-reflection can be. Taking time to reflect on your experiences from the past year isn’t just about assessing what you accomplished — it’s also about understanding your emotional journey, your growth, and where you might need more care or support.
Mindfulness-based reflection practices have been shown to reduce stress and improve emotional well-being (Shapiro et al., 2018). As you reflect, consider not only your successes but also the challenges you faced and how you responded to them. What did you learn? How did those experiences shape you?
Journaling is a great tool for this kind of reflection. Set aside some quiet time, and ask yourself: What am I proud of this year? What felt hard, and how did I cope? This exercise allows you to acknowledge your growth while identifying areas where you might need more attention or change.
Suggestion: Dedicate 10-15 minutes a day for the rest of the year to journaling about your thoughts and feelings. Use prompts such as, "What was my biggest personal challenge this year, and how did I grow from it?"
2. Cultivate Gratitude: Shift Your Perspective
Gratitude is a powerful practice that shifts your focus from what’s lacking to what’s abundant in your life. Research has shown that regular gratitude practice can improve mental health, increase happiness, and strengthen relationships (Emmons & McCullough, 2003).
At the end of the year, it’s easy to focus on the things we didn’t achieve or what didn’t go as planned. But by shifting our perspective to what we’re grateful for, we create space for joy and appreciation. Gratitude allows us to end the year with a sense of fullness, rather than lack.
A simple way to practice gratitude is to write down three things you’re grateful for each day. These can be small, like a warm cup of tea on a cold morning, or larger, like the support of a friend during a difficult time. The key is to focus on what brought you a sense of peace, joy, or fulfillment.
Suggestion: Start a gratitude journal, and each evening before bed, write down three things you’re grateful for from that day. Notice how this practice impacts your overall mindset as the year winds down.
3. Set Intentions, Not Resolutions
Many people start thinking about New Year’s resolutions at the end of the year. But I prefer setting intentions over resolutions. While resolutions tend to focus on what we think we "should" do (often leading to feelings of failure when we fall short), intentions are about aligning our actions with our values and what truly matters to us.
Setting intentions encourages us to focus on how we want to feel and live, rather than rigid goals. For example, instead of resolving to "exercise more," you might set an intention to "prioritize my physical and mental health in ways that feel nurturing and sustainable."
Intentions invite flexibility and self-compassion. When we focus on intentions, we create room for growth and change without the pressure of achieving a specific outcome.
Suggestion: Reflect on the values that matter most to you, and use them to guide your intentions for the new year. Write down how you want to feel and what you’ll focus on to support those feelings.
4. Mindful Breathing: Create Space for Calm
One of the simplest and most effective mindfulness practices is mindful breathing. When caught up in the stress and chaos of the holiday season, we often forget to breathe deeply and fully. Shallow, rapid breathing is a common stress response, but it keeps our nervous system in a heightened state of alert.
Mindful breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which promotes relaxation and reduces stress (Kabat-Zinn, 2003). By taking a few moments each day to breathe deeply and mindfully, you can create space for calm and clarity amid year-end busyness.
Try this: Sit quietly, close your eyes, and take a slow, deep breath in through your nose, feeling your chest and abdomen expand. Hold the breath for a moment, then exhale slowly through your mouth, releasing any tension. Repeat this for five to ten breaths, and notice how your body and mind begin to relax.
Suggestion: Practice mindful breathing during stressful moments, such as when holiday planning feels overwhelming. It only takes a minute, but it can make a world of difference in how you handle the moment.
5. Embrace Self-Compassion: Be Gentle with Yourself
As we wrap up the year, it’s easy to be hard on ourselves for what we didn’t achieve or for our mistakes. However, self-compassion is essential for emotional well-being and resilience. According to Neff (2003), self-compassion involves treating yourself with the same kindness, understanding, and support that you would offer to a friend in a difficult time.
Instead of criticizing yourself for unmet goals or perceived shortcomings, practice self-compassion by acknowledging your humanity. Everyone struggles, everyone makes mistakes, and everyone faces challenges. You are not alone, and you are deserving of kindness — especially from yourself.
Self-compassion doesn’t mean giving up on your goals or not holding yourself accountable. It simply means being gentle with yourself as you navigate life’s ups and downs.
Suggestion: When you catch yourself being self-critical, pause and ask, "What would I say to a friend in this situation?" Then, offer those same words of kindness to yourself.
Wrapping Up the Year with Intention
The end of the year is a natural time for reflection, but it doesn’t have to be a mad dash to the finish line. By incorporating mindfulness practices, self-reflection, and intentional goal-setting, you can wind down the year with grace and start the new year with balance.
Remember, it’s not about perfection — it’s about presence. These practices are here to help you slow down, tune in, and cultivate a sense of peace and clarity as you move into the new year.
References:
Emmons, R. A., & McCullough, M. E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(2), 377-389.
Kabat-Zinn, J. (2003). Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR). In Clinical handbook of mindfulness (pp. 9-22). Springer.
Neff, K. D. (2003). The development and validation of a scale to measure self-compassion. Self and Identity, 2(3), 223-250.
Shapiro, S. L., Brown, K. W., & Biegel, G. M. (2018). Teaching self-care to caregivers: Effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction on the mental health of therapists in training. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 1(2), 105.
