The 3 Things You MUST do Before 2013 Ends

Wow! 2013 flew by! With 2 days left to go, we're all busy doing, thinking, and planning. So what's wrong with that? Pretty much everything.

There are 3 things you MUST do in the next 2 days and luckily none of them involve "work." With that in mind, here's to closing 2013 with peace and opening 2014 as your best self:

1. Stop obsessing over what needs to get done by the end of the year. 

We set unrealistic expectations for ourselves. I am no exception. As the end of the year tends to be my spiritual growth spurt, I have some willful ideas of what I should achieve both in my career and my emotional/spiritual growth right now. Only recently did I realize that my belief of what things “should” look like was exactly what was holding me back. Instead of controlling the next two days, surrender. Surrender this moment. Surrender this year. Whatever you think you should have done, just let it go. Know that your higher self has your back if you are willing to stop controlling and start receiving.

2. Find gratitude.

This goes hand-in-hand with #1. What are the things you are truly grateful for this year?  Take time to look back and be grateful.  You can’t know where you’re going next year until you know where you are, and that requires being still and being grateful. How do you do this? Review this past year by taking out a journal and letting things spill out. I can promise you that when you sit still and allow your inner guide to take the reins, feelings you never knew you had will spill out onto the page. And a kernel of truth will emerge that will inspire you to enter 2014 as your authentic self.

3. Be present to amp up the self-love

Stop stressing about your resolutions and what you want to accomplish for next year. You need clarity to create a goal & set an intention from an aligned place. If you’ve worked the gratitude step, you’re probably feeling more positive about where you are. But, if you truly feel there is nothing to rejoice about, you may be in a warped fatalistic time trap. We’ve all been there. The key is recognizing that you have the ability to change whatever isn’t working for you. You create your own reality. In moments where I’m stuck in the negative, I often take a cleansing breath and recite the serenity prayer,

God grant me the serenity 
to accept the things I cannot change; 
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Nothing compares to that feeling of calm, clean, serenity. And that’s how I want to enter 2014-from an aligned place of self-love.

You can either close this year and enter the next as your best self or you can drag your old shit into next year. The choice is yours.

From the bottom of my heart, I wish all of you a happy and healthy New Year.