Why Should You Create an End of Year Ritual for your Business?

As we say goodbye to another year (and what a year it was!), I want to talk to my fellow women business owners, mamas, and dreamers out there. 2020 showed us real challenges, it shed light on some truths, and it helped us get clearer on what actually matters.

 

We got closer to our families, to our communities, to people with different lived experiences than our own. And yes, it was hard. It was emotional. It was not all fun and sunshine. But you’re here reading this, and I’m so thankful for you. I’m so proud of you. We’re going to take what we learned this year and keep moving forward — wiser and with more perspective.

 

There was so much transformation this year, and I want to celebrate that. I also want to share a little yearly ritual I complete at the end of each year, and share how it may help you enter the new year with excitement, clarity, and joy.

 

My end-of-year ritual for my business

We’ve all heard about habits, and how habits are built through rituals. These are things we do every day, in a specific order or with a specific intention. For me, my end-of-year ritual is like that. It’s something I do to physically wrap up the year, reflect, and set an intention for the year to come. I won’t say it always looks the same… I turned 40 this year and my end-of-year ritual has looked a little different for many of my adult years!

 

Creating your own end-of-year ritual

Now, just because that is what I do, it doesn’t mean you have to follow my process step for step. However, I do really think that having an end-of-year ritual is great for all of us, even if it’s something small. It’s kind of like reading a bedtime story before the kiddos go to bed; it helps you wind down, sets the tone for what’s happening, and marks that another day is done!

If you do decide to follow my ritual, or include some of the steps in your own, great! Feel free to take what you want and leave the rest… or leave it all! The beauty of an end-of-year ritual is that it’s entirely yours to create.

Set the mood

I personally love to set up my space for what I want to accomplish, even outside of this end-of-year ritual! Of course, the time of year you’d be doing this, candles, cozy blankets, sweaters, and hot drinks are definitely “in season,” so I recommend choosing whatever makes you feel the best. If you’re more of a cocktail and dance music kinda gal, go for it!

For me, I love making tea, lighting a citrus scented candle or diffusing some essential oils, grabbing a few of my favorite crystals (rose quartz, amethyst, and selenite) to up the energy in the room, and playing some acoustic or chill-music playlist to help set the mood.

Reflect on the last year

Once I get all settled in, I like to start journaling. This can be a simple review of how I’m feeling about the past year, but I’ve also used prompts before to get the pen rolling. I also love to look through my phone’s photos to look at what happened, remind myself of the little moments that made me smile, and to refresh my memory about all the things that I did.
I also ask myself questions like:

What went well this year in business and in life?

• What moments in my life do I want to remember from this year?
• What lessons did I learn this year that I can carry into next year?
• What do I want to see change in the next year?
• What do I want to keep from the last year?
• What am I grateful for right now? What will I be grateful for this time next year?

If you want to review your business income, your sales or client goals, or other more tactical goals, I recommend planning a separate and specific goal-setting session just for that! This is a time to wrap up, reflect, and feel good… without instantly putting pressure on yourself!

Set intentions

Once you’ve got your thoughts down, it’ll be easier to see what you want to leave behind and what you want to carry forward into the fresh new year. Some people (like me!) enjoy choosing words of the year. Others like to journal it out. Others like to light a candle and send up a wish, a prayer, a shout-out — it’s whatever floats your boat!
Here are a few questions to get your intention-setting started:

• What do I want to experience in business and in life next year?
• What do I want to see come to life in the upcoming year?
• How will I feel when I see these dreams come to life?
• What are the words that I want to feel or live into in the coming year?

I love setting an intention because it gives you something to guide decisions in the new year. If something is in alignment with that intention, it’s a “Hell yes!” If it’s not in alignment with that intention, it’s a “Hell no!”

Write your future self a letter

This is one of my favorite parts of the end-of-year ritual! If you do this ritual for more than a year, you’ll also be able to read your letter to yourself at the end of the next year! I’ve been doing this for a handful of years now, and having this little note to myself is so powerful — it’s like the past and future versions of myself go and have a chat!
I usually write down what I think the year ahead is going to bring. I write down my intentions and I write them down as if they’ve already happened. I essentially write them into existence. When I am done writing it all down, I actually get an envelope and seal it up. I don’t read it again until the following New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day.

Rituals are all about setting yourself up for success

As I mentioned before, this end-of-year ritual is just what works for me. You can use pieces of it, all of it, or none of it! You can create your own entirely from scratch or even create a ritual with your girlfriends, your kids, your family. It’s yours to create! Whatever it is, though, make it magical. When we leave room for magic, it comes to us!
On that note, I would also like to remind you that, when we surround ourselves by women who believe in the power of their actions and intentions, we all rise.
The Blooming Business Inner Circle is where women learn how to write their own success stories, and build thriving businesses and joy-filled lives! The Inner Circle Sisters and I would love to welcome you in — and we may even have a few end-of-year rituals of our own planned inside the private Facebook community!
Join the Blooming Business Inner Circle now if you want to make the new year your best yet.