The end of 2024
It’s hard to come to the end of any year without some kind of reflection, even if we may be avoiders of all things ‘New Year’. We may take a bird’s eye view of the last 12 months, or there may be stand-out moments for us – both positive and negative. Equally, there’s a pull towards looking at what the next 12 months may bring. We’re invited in our interactions with family, friends, and colleagues to make New Year’s resolutions and social media and mainstream medias bombard us with articles on what to give up in a quest for perfect health, or how to ask for that promotion or to book that life-defining holiday.
It's interesting because for the other 11 months of the year, we are encouraged to be present, to be in the moment, to practice mindfulness. In Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, we talk of Fortune Telling as a Negative Thought Pattern and work with clients to challenge their unhealthy relationship with predicting the future. Yet at New Year, there seems to be a drive for us to lock-down plans for the next year, and, as we set ourselves unrealistic goals, we are already opening the door to future disappointment as we fail to meet the highest bar that we have set for ourselves.
In therapy, we look at future goals and how each individual may reach them. A forward-focus is helpful but only if the desired outcomes are realistic and therapy can be useful in challenging the expectations we set for ourselves. One question in my intake assessment is “Desired Outcome of Therapy – How would you know it has been successful?” At this stage we begin the process of setting realistic goals and we challenge past narratives that have set us on pathways towards failure.
On X (formerly Twitter), I follow @allontheboard, an account that writes many thoughtful and interesting missives on information boards on the London Underground. For New Year’s Eve, they posted “Don’t feel pressured to change, just do what’s natural to you, which starts with looking after yourself.” That’s a sentiment I can certainly get behind.