Don't take that baggage into the new year

It's exactly 7 hours and 30 minutes to go, before the new year in the part of the world where I live in. For the last few hours in the fading year, it's good to take the time to look back on the year 2022 one last time to see what's good you can take along into the new year, and what's odd you can discard. There is no greater agony than bad moments of your life going into the new year with you. Just like that old saying goes if you make your bed you have to lie on it so do the same with your life, I know this may be a cliche saying but it is true if you make your bed you have to lie on it.

Now I don't want to get into this conversation about "your past shouldn't determine your future" because that's up for you to decide, but I will say one thing about regrets in life. The one thing about regrets in life is that regret itself is not a feeling, it's a choice. You can decide whether to hold on to those bad feelings and regrets or let them go, it's all in your power to decide.

The following 7 hours should be a period of assessment about your life to release yourself from the shackles of bad feelings and bad moments of your life during the year 2022 before going into the new year. For example, someone said to you that they love you and you found out they are cheating on you. Or someone you support left you just because you don't have the level of success they want. Or you get dumped by a girl you love so much.

So what do we do with this baggage?

Instead of letting it ruin the new year, why not turn it into something creative?

Here's how:

1. Write everything down

Write down all your bad memories, everything that makes you feel bad, every anger and every sadness on a piece of paper. Try to write down as much as possible, even the things that you think are not important. It will be useful later.

2. Find patterns

Figure what patterns in your life are causing these bad emotions. The point of all this is to find out what things in your life are causing these negative emotions in you. It might be some people, some habits, or maybe some events and surroundings.

3. Find your baggage and understand the meaning of each bag

This is where you sit down and think about all the baggage you have been carrying since the beginning of the year. As you start naming the bags, you begin to see patterns forming. These patterns are things like; you feel like you aren't good enough, you aren't loved, and you feel alone. These things are common themes among people in a variety of circumstances.

For example, you may have found several bags labeled, "I'm being hunted". It could be from a family member, friend, or even a person from your past. What you have to do next is decide what those words mean to you. Maybe to you they mean:

• You feel like no one will ever love you

• It's your career hunting you

• You feel like your past hunts you

Or maybe it's none of the above, and it defines itself differently. These are things you should know about your baggage.

When this exercise is complete, we are now ready to move on to the next exercise which will demonstrate how best to get rid of our baggage.

4. Improve your life

After you find the patterns in your life that are causing you bad emotions, you can make a plan to improve those areas in your life. For example, put the bad things that happened to you in the past and try to look at the positive side of it. Learn from your mistakes and try to make better decisions next time.

This is not an easy thing to do and it takes time to change so don't beat yourself up if you fall short. Just get back on track as soon as possible.

5. Let go and forgive

Now it's time to cut the ties with the baggage. If you haven't already, write down the baggage you found in step 3 and what you'll name the bag. What is the pattern that all these things seem to have?

It's important to recognize that, whether you want to accept it or not, you hold on to your baggage because it hurts to let go. What I mean by that is that if you forgive someone and they continue to hurt you, then you are letting them hurt you because of those old wounds over and over again, repeatedly.

Don't take that baggage into the new year, but rather start the year fresh. It will help you to feel happier and more at peace.

When you look at the bags, you will probably see a few different types. Some bags you can throw out. These may be the weight of previous relationships, jobs, or friendships that are no longer useful to you.

The next type of bag is one that you need to keep. These are lessons and things that will make you stronger and better prepared for the next time life hands you a bag. These are things like; the loss of a loved one, a job loss, or a breakup with a partner. Most importantly there is that thing that we all face at one point or another in our lives, depression. Depression is something we can all get through if we know what's in the bag; the thing we are missing and what we did wrong to cause us to have depression in the first place.

Don't bring your bad luck into the new year. Don't bring that folly into the new year. Don't carry that negative energy over into the new year.

Don't bring the bad relationship into the new year with you. Take that stress off your shoulders in the new year. Don't bring your negative habits with you into the new year. Don't bring your misery and tears into the new year with you.

Don't bring your money woes into the new year with you. Don't bring your loneliness with you into the new year. Don't carry that pain into the new year. Don't tempt fate by bringing it back to the new year.

Don't carry any of your tension into the new year. Whatever it is, whether good or bad, turn it into a positive for the new year rather than a negative. You'll have a fantastic year ahead of you if you accomplish this.