We are in the last month of 2021! Shocking how fast time goes, right? And it is even more shocking when you look back at your year from when it started until now and see what you have been able to accomplish, what you left halfway, and what you never got a start on.
Before you jump into the new year, you need to finish this old year strong and you must do so.
What does ‘Finishing Strong’ Mean?
Finishing strong doesn’t necessarily mean ending the year with more wealth, great financial success, or fame.
Finishing strong means figuring out what you want, becoming grounded in that knowledge, and from that place of being firm and unshakeable, being able to decide how to move forward regarding your future.
Finishing strong means looking back at the year you had: what you succeeded in, what you failed at, what lessons you learned, and how what you went through made you a different person. It means coming to terms with what has happened and learning how those experiences made you stronger, then using that knowledge to plan for a great New Year.
Why is it Important to Finish Strong?
- Each year is like a book, with each chapter telling a tale of a life lived.
2021 is a book you need to read to get a better understanding of what direction your life took, and how much change you can expect in the new year. There are some chapters you may want to skip through, chapters of pain and loss, but each chapter matters, because every phase of life you go through adds to you, builds you, makes you a little bit different.
2. Fear makes for a very boring book that no one wants to read.
As the adage goes, ‘if at first, you don’t succeed, try, try again.’ But sometimes, the fear of failure makes us get stuck in a rut, safe in our comfort zones, doing the same things over and over without any spontaneity or creativity. And when we don’t confront that fear, there is no way we can finish strong and set ourselves up for a greater year.
3. Facing those fears makes you stronger.
Finishing strong requires a great amount of reflection, and these reflections will dredge up past actions and times in your life that you will have to face. Facing those bad times is possible, is doable, and is important if you want to finish the year strong.
4. Facing those bad decisions makes you better.
Let’s face it: we all make bad choices from time to time. Sometimes we make decisions based on bad habits. Facing those bad decisions helps you face those bad habits, thus putting you on the path to learning better habits and making better decisions.
5. What is your book trying to tell you?
The decisions you made. The goals you achieved. The loss you experienced. The joy you had. All of this is in the book of 2021. What is it trying to tell you about how you live your life? What is it saying you need to change? What is it telling you to add to your life? What do you need to let go of? Having a clear picture of this helps you form clearer pictures of how you want 2022 to go; helps you make better, flexible plans, and helps keep you grounded in what you know and what you want.
Why is finishing strong important? It is because finishing strong is what helps you to start strong. December may be a festive month, but it is also a reflective one. Use it to look back on the year you had to make good plans for the year ahead.
Use it to finish strong.
