So, 2021 is coming to a close.

I’m guessing you’re kind of looking forward to that. It feels like the general vibe is that people are ready for a fresh start. I know I'm ready for some newness.

Here’s the thing...

Can you really move forward if you haven’t taken some time to consciously look back?

I love new things:

new years, new clothes, new homes, new cars, new ideas, new adventures (not new husbands though, I love the one I’ve got). And 2 kids is plenty. No new kids.

The one teeny tiny problem is that loving new things can lead to always looking ahead without gleaning lessons from what’s already happened. It can create a perpetual attitude of “what’s next?”, without pausing to celebrate successes and lessons learned.

For many years, I read the top 10 lists as the year came to a close, listened to the top 10 songs, and that was about it. Not surprisingly, I didn’t make a whole lot of progress from one year to the next. I didn’t really have any big dreams that I was aware of, and so one year kind of blended into the next.

Then about 9 years ago, as a family, we started doing a sacred releasing ceremony at the end of the year, using fire to let go of what we determined was no longer serving us. We also started to set intentions for the new year, using the smoke to send our wishes up into the ethers.

Not surprisingly, I noticed a difference in how I let go of the year and moved into the next.

That tracking really all started out with the Year End Retrospective. For years, I’ve had it on my vision board to “be a planner”. Up until a few years ago, it was an elusive goal, but ever since that first year end retrospective, there’s been a lot more success with tracking, reflecting, and setting better goals.

I’m going to be doing another Year End Retrospective this year, because it set me up to have amplified success, even with the roller coaster ride of the outside world.

Perhaps you would like to join me. Amplified success is nice.