How to pack up 2023 so the New Year can really be different.

Sometimes closure is more important than starting new things

Thank God years don’t last longer than they do! I mean, it’s hard enough to accomplish one perfect day of living. Extend that to a set of seven perfectly lived days? Then 30? Already an Everest to climb.

Every year is like a short life. 365 consecutive days well lived?!! That’s a challenge worthy of even the greatest masters.

Mostly, we blow it. Mostly, we don’t even make a plan. Just watch a lot of Netflix and zone out scrolling.

I want a better life than most and I think you do too. I want this year to be different, more centered.

I sense that it’s going to be more challenging year than most. We’re in a transition from the world we’ve always known to…that’s the real question, isn’t it?

I think we all are going to need to take a lot more initiative if we want to have a stable life in 2024.

Closure

Before I can begin a truly fresh year, it’s important to lay the past year to rest and bring appropriate closure to it. This week between Christmas and New Year is my favorite week of all. It sits at the apex between a year lived and a year of potential.

Time to Imagine

One of the greatest parts of the fourth quarter is the chance to imagine a better year, set action goals to improve your body, creativity, relationships and impact on others, then start fresh at midnight on Dec. 31 to live that better year out.

A Ritual: Processing a year as a family

As a family we slow this week down and corporately muse over the photos and memories of the past year. We evaluate the things that have happened to us and how they have shaped us.

We think especially about our own initiative—our actions (or lack of action) and the fruit of it on us and others. We make plans to exercise more personal authority in the coming 12 months, announce our goals and cheer each other on.

Relational Maintenance at Year’s End

As the cold winter approaches we wrap our pipes to avoid damage by freezing.

It’s also a sensible time to do relational maintenance. Accumulated relational wounds blight the seeds of a blessed future.

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Four Sentences We All Need to Say and Hear

Dr. Ira Byock in his book, “The Four Things That Matter Most,” lists four things the dying need to say to their loved ones to bring proper closure to their shared experience of life. These work just as well at the dying of the past year so we can let it go.

• Please Forgive Me.

• I Forgive You.

• Thank You

• I Love You.

Over the next week, I’m gonna be thinking and praying about anyone I need to say these words to and I encourage you to do the same. These are hard conversations, and they are embarrassing. It takes a lot of courage to be the one to call First, and speak first, but in my experience, it almost always ends with smiles and hugs and relief on both sides.

Let’s start 2024 with a full heart of gratitude and happiness. Intentional living can help us find a favored future.

Happy new year!