It’s something we all do and I’m not sure why, but there you are. We look back at the year that is ending, get out our favorite bludgeoning tool and start beating ourselves up for everything we didn’t get done, everything we should have done, everything we think we did wrong and everything we could have done right if only…. And we don’t stop with just one review. We’ll be doing this throughout the rest of the week right up until the ball drops. I think that’s one of the reasons we celebrate the coming new year so hard. Because it’s the light at the end of the tunnel of self violence we put ourselves through.
So lets stop the violence this year. Think about it: Has anything good ever come out of the self castigation you put yourself through the end of each year? Has some inspiration come from it that has improved your life? Have you gotten more energy and more will power to do the things you didn’t get done the year before? Or does it just pound into your noggin and your body and your heart the fact that you’re a failure….again? Well, then let’s be radical. Let’s take a stand against self violence. Let’s look back without blame or recriminations.
I’m not saying let’s get cumbaya and change history by only looking at the good stuff. That’s what the champagne is for. 😉 However, let’s not get out the torture tools when we look back. Let’s just look. How about, just for today, we look back and don’t take blame and responsibility for everything bad or negative or frustrating or not quite right that happened? Let’s just take that baby step. Let’s look at the things that happened in our life and see where there were circumstances that weren’t in our control and mark them off our naughty list. There…doesn’t that feel just a bit better?