Preparing for the New Year
The new year is just a few hours away. Here are a few quick and simple things you can do to mentally, spiritually, physically, and emotionally prepare for the coming year. If you bring in the New Year at a party, church, or home alone, doing one of these easy activities will make a difference in your upcoming year. Check them out!
Practice Gratitude: Take a moment to write or silently reflect on everything 2019 brought you. Be thankful for all the experiences: those you judge as good and those you experience as bad. Focus on what you learned that will help carry you into a successful 2020. What did you learn in 2019 that you did not know before? How does this knowing make you better? Say “Thank you” for all that you have learned. Celebrate your growth!
Sage: Saging your home is also known as smudging. Its roots are in Native American, African, and Indian cultures and traditions. Saging offers a way to cleanse a person, thought, illness, or negative energies and influences from your person or space. The theory behind saging is that the smoke attaches itself to negative energy, and as it clears, it takes the negative energy with it. Saging is about removing negative energy, experiences, thoughts, or people from your space. So, you must ensure the negativity has a place to exit. Therefore, open a window or a door whenever you sage your space. Also, before you begin to sage, you want to start with a set intention. What are you inviting into your space? What are you removing from your space?
Set Goals and Intentions: Write a list of goals for the upcoming year. Be sure not to write too many complicated goals. Write a few simple things you want to accomplish in the coming year and ensure your goals are measurable. Include all the essential areas of your life: health, finances, work, relationships, and personal goals. A goal might be “Raise my credit by 40 points,” “Go on at least three dates a month,” “Take a trip abroad,” “Apply for two new jobs a week,” or “Resume writing in my journal nightly.” I suggest you write two goals in each category. As you accomplish your goal, cross it off the list.
Pray: For the last three years, I have begun each year with prayer and meditation, and it has been a powerful, energetic experience. I strongly recommend it. I know it is a strong juxtaposition to those who will be shouting, partying, and kissing the moment the clock strikes twelve, but it is something that I have adopted into my yearly practice, and I enjoy the benefits. As the year changes, I like to be still, and I like to be quiet. Perhaps this isn’t for you, but I recommend everyone try it at least once. Take a moment to get still with yourself. What do you hear? What do you know? What do you feel?
If you are looking to make some radical shifts in 2020, B. Well offers excellent coaching and challenges you to move your life toward more mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical well-being. Remember, life does not get better by chance; it gets better by choice and by change! God bless you in 2020 and always. Happy New Year!
Joyfully,
Dr. Adrianne R. Pinkney,
Integrative Wellness & Life Coach
