Taking stock of the year that was can be good for your mental health
As the year comes to a close and everyone starts to look back on the year that was to see what they have achieved or what has happened. Here are some tips to on how you can take stock of the year that has been so you can face the end of the year with a renewed and energised sense of self and look forward to the New Year.
4 ways to take stock of your year and look ahead to the New Year
1) Reflect
Find a quiet place to reflect about the year that was and write down the moments mattered, the achievements you accomplished. Also jot down the bad times when you were at your lowest, the events that resonated with you.
From these notes, ask yourself- what did you learn? What have you changed as a response to them? These musings could be the bases for how you approach the end of year period.
Make sure to put these in a place you can reflect on often – whether in your phone, mood board or fridge.
2) Pay your dues
Perhaps on reflection, you’ve found loose ends or unresolved feelings that you don’t want to carry into the New Year.
Talk to those people whom you have unresolved issues with if you feel confident and well enough to do so. Approach the situation with good will and peaceful intentions. However, if you predict the other person won’t be so approachable and forgiving, write them a letter with your thoughts and feelings and then consciously let yourself give up the issue.
If on reflection you find yourself feeling gratitude, let the people who inspire these feeling to know! Send them flowers, invite them over for a special end of year or New Year drink or just give them a hug.
When we practice gratitude, we create a sense of appreciation in ourselves for all the good aspects of our lives. This appreciation gives us the strength to face what life can throw at us, especially with the stress of the Christmas and New Year period.
3) Plan your goals
What do you want to achieve for the remainder of the year? Perhaps it’s a final push to lose those extra 1st or maybe to cut out sugar.
While ambition is a quality to aspire to, make sure your goals are realistic. Try instead to allow yourself a little permission to slip and this way you won’t end the year with feelings of guilt and disappointment if you don’t lose 1st or cut out sugar completely.
By allowing yourself to fail, your mental health will be more positive, looking forward to the future achievement of goals instead of looking back at failure.
4) Look for obstacles
Have you found any obstacles, upon reflection of the year? Perhaps it’s the amount of stress you have in your life? Perhaps you feel like you have no support.
It could also be the 30 minutes here and there you spend on social media, that builds to hours, scrolling through profiles that make you feel bad about yourself.
If you found stress was a big trigger in your year and you can’t change your situation to reduce that stress, use techniques such as breathing or meditation to help cope with stress.
The Healthy Mummy’s in-app MIND.BODY.BREATH sessions as part of the 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge, is an amazing resource to assist you in coping with stress and life in general.
Our Facebook group are also fantastic places for you to find like-minded mums who can help support you on your journey. If social media comparisons are an issue, take a social media break for the rest of the year or unfollow accounts that make you feel bad and follow profiles that are supportive and encourage body positivity.
Doing as much as you can to be mentally healthy will reduce the stress you experience this holiday period which will set you up in making the best possible decisions when faced with temptations.
Want more support to make your end of year great? Join our community of supportive mums!
If you are wanting to get that bit of extra support in your journey to better health come and join our community of mums.
