As I was starting to plan my 50th birthday party, I reflected on the different ways I had celebrated important birthdays in the past. It brought tears to my eyes (and not of joy). I didn’t have many happy memories. I decided this birthday would be different.

Many of us suffer from ‘superhuman syndrome’ and the ‘I can do it all on my own’ mentality, and we forget the importance of sharing experiences with others.

At the end of the year there is a pressure to set New Year’s resolutions to ensure that next year will be the best year yet. We want to exercise more, lose weight, get organised, learn a new hobby and live life to the fullest. I like to end the year differently. 

When we don’t express our emotions we become stressed. We bottle up strong feelings and avoid confronting people. To reduce stress, we need to express our emotions and set boundaries.

I was strolling down Kastanienallee, one of the trendy shopping streets in the former East Berlin, with my bestie visiting from Sweden.

 
How is the beginning of the year unfolding for you? Do you have new energy or are you already tired from trying to make this year different?

Feeling calm and present, I pour raspberry tea into my favorite cup. I have just devoted a couple of hours to my annual ritual – bringing my year to a close and celebrating the extraordinary things I’ve learned.

“My biggest takeaway from the sessions with you was that I invested time in myself!” One of my clients just completed a coaching program with me. Over the course of eight weeks, she went from being completely overwhelmed, to creating a life with less pressure and more time for meaningful relationships.

It’s week 9 of… I was going to write “lockdown” or “home retreat” but none of those descriptions fit anymore to what this feels like right now. I found a new word, inspired by the trauma therapist Edith Eger, who says there is no such thing as a crisis. She says there are only “transitions”.