“It’s time to put an end to things that we’ve been delaying to finish.”

Instagram.com/deguzman.nath

Tis the season to buy your friends coffee to get that “free” planner. Then use it for a few months and then never again.

I used to be very guilty of this but I decided to act all money-wise and settle for an ordinary one. I did the mandatory planner buying last weekend and then complained about the shops that had empty shelves. I mean, what else was I expecting. Of course it would sell out quickly, therefore I was stuck with a very plain one.

My first year ender advice? Buy a new year planner ahead of time.

Kidding aside, I was able to reflect while I was forced to wait twenty minutes at the cashier to pay for it. Patience is not my friend and so is 2020.

Kidding!

2020 was a tough year, I’m sure a lot of us are leaving with a bag full of life lessons. But here are a few of my year ender realizations:

First and foremost, not all of our plans will follow through.

I wrote in my previous blogs that I am by far one of the biggest control freaks you’ll ever meet but let’s face it, I can be the biggest one out there, planning every minute of the day, writing down all the reminders I need to remember but the truth is, not all of my plans will follow through. There are and will always be adjustments and changes.

I find myself pretty pissed off when at the end of the day I don’t finish everything that I had to. But upon my 20 minute reflection I realized that I can’t really plan everything out.

I mean come on, how many of us claimed that 2020 would be an amazing year? How many resolutions did we write down and haven’t crossed out until today?

I just want to say that IT’S OKAY!

You got it this far and that’s a big enough achievement already- definitely deserving of a toast!

Life is unpredictable it always has been, I’ve learned to be gentle with myself.

To not beat myself up for the things that weren’t able to happen this year because of situations I couldn’t control- of people I couldn’t control.

The thing is, what’s not for you will never be yours, we can only prolong a moment for a while but what’s bound to end will always end.

Which brings me to my other realization: The year is ending and that means it’s also time to put an end to things that we’ve been delaying to finish.

I know it sounds scary but take it from someone who’s been there, it only seems like it until you start doing it. Leaving is hard until you start walking.

I stalled myself countless of times to avoid the painful road of moving on. Nothing about acceptance is easy, especially if it’s not the outcome you wanted or expected.

It was this year when I realized that maybe, not all endings are sad.

That it was an opportunity for me to start fresh. My happiest beginnings this year were disguised as the most painful endings last year. If I never said goodbye to the anger and pain, I could have never said hello to the happiness I have now.

One thing had to end for another to begin. I had to declutter old memories to have space for the new ones. I had to close a book to move on to the next one.

Starting over again sounds foreign and scary but believe me, it’s better than staying in a place where pain is the only thing familiar. It didn’t work out not because you didn’t deserve it but because you deserved so much more than it.

Have faith that better things are already making their way to you.

Summon all the strength you possibly can to finally close the book, end the conversation, leave and let go of what needs to go.

The year is ending, let’s move forward with grace.

Happy Holidays!

Yours, Yna.