Kim C, The NP

I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season. How many of us make daily promises to be better about so many things next year?! I just ravenously chowed down on a sizable slice of cake, telling myself that I’ll eat healthier next week!

I think we all arrive at the end of a year with hopes and dreams for the upcoming 12 months. Often, they remain just hopes and dreams, but isn’t it great that for a period of time, they make us feel empowered and confident? They help put the “happy” in “happy holidays!”

It may seem like a drastic change from a few weeks ago when we felt “down” about what we didn’t accomplish in 2024. A colleague of mine said she had “all these big plans” for this year, but she “blew everything.” I myself lamented about how short I fell of my own goals this year and second-guessed every decision I made that contributed to my perceived failures.

It’s this time of year that can really upset the balance of our mental health. In the early part of the season, there’s lots of stress related to gifts, family gatherings and what we haven’t achieved. We then shift to party mode and start thinking and dreaming super big!

As we end another year, let’s try to be kind to ourselves. It’s perfectly reasonable to set goals for the new year and also to have some regrets about the ones we didn’t meet this year, but remember that most of us do the best we can and that’s good enough!

Happy holidays, everyone!