Skip the Shame Spiral and End The Year With Grace
You’ve made it through another long, sometimes challenging, and yet again unprecedented year. That alone is worth celebrating.
The end of the year can bring up many emotions. If what you’re feeling during this time is left behind, or like you didn’t do enough, keep reading.
If you’re finding focusing on the good difficult, you’re not alone. Many more young adults are experiencing the pressure to perform, or to appear flawless. According to the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, these rates have significantly increased over the past few decades; more people than ever are measuring themselves against unrealistic standards of success, productivity, and even happiness.
Let's challenge those self-critical feelings, and find evidence that supports all that you’ve accomplished this year. Let’s take a moment to reflect:
How many times did you overcome something that felt impossible?
How many times did something lucky happen to you?
How many opportunities did you have to show up for people you love?
As we ease into the last few weeks of this year, I would like you to be intentional and be gentle with yourself. Let’s end this year on a self-compassionate and restful note instead of a judgmental, competitive one.
Use these journaling prompts to help you ease into a restorative reflection:
What did I accomplish this year that I am proud of…that I may have overlooked because it didn’t seem “big enough”?
Considering who I am today, how do I define wellness and success ways that feel aligned?
If I trusted that I’m exactly where I need to be, how would I feel? How would I spend my time differently?
One last thing-
It may take some practice catching those thoughts you’re having about how you measure up against your classmates or colleagues, or wondering if you’ve let your family or friends down.
Here are some mindset shift prompts to help you get started:
What does “falling behind” mean to me right now?
Whose timeline am I following — mine or someone else’s?
What am I minimizing or overlooking that I actually should feel proud of?
Did this help you to hit pause on a shame spiral? Let me know in the comments!
Share this with someone that could use some support with breaking out of a harsh self-inflicted end-of-year review.
As Always, Be Well!
~Jessica Herd, LMHC-D
See you in the new year!
Resources:
National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Dial “988”
Text Crisis Line: Text “HELLO” to 741741
