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The end-of-year and new-year season often comes with messages about “fresh starts,” achievements, and big goals. It can also bring up a mental checklist: what you meant to do, what didn’t happen, what you wish you had handled differently. It can be tempting to focus on what didn’t get accomplished.
If that’s where you are, you don’t have to force yourself into reflection if it feels overwhelming. However, making space to notice wins, no matter how small, can offer a different kind of grounding. Not because it changes what happened or minimizes what’s hard, but because perspective can shape how we carry things forward.
When Joy Feels Complicated
Joy doesn’t always look like celebration or excitement. Sometimes it’s quiet. Sometimes it shows up alongside grief or exhaustion. And sometimes, it doesn’t show up at all.
Making room for joy doesn’t mean pretending things are fine or looking for silver linings where they don’t belong. It can simply mean recognizing moments where you kept going, adapted, or showed yourself care, especially when circumstances were out of your control.
Acknowledging Wins, Even When They Feel Small
Wins are deeply personal. They don’t have to be visible to anyone else, and they don’t need to feel impressive. They might include things like:
- Getting through a difficult conversation
- Asking for help, even if it felt uncomfortable
- Resting when you needed to, rather than pushing through
- Setting a boundary, or recognizing when one was needed
- Taking a break and coming back when you had the energy
- Trying again, even after something didn’t work out
For some people, a win is simply making it through a tough day. For others, it’s realizing they handled something differently than they would have before. All of it counts.
Celebrating Doesn’t Have to Look Big
Celebrating a win doesn’t require a big gesture. It can be as simple as:
- Noticing it and naming it
- Writing it down
- Sharing it with someone you trust
- Letting yourself feel a moment of relief or pride
And sometimes, celebration just means acknowledging: I did what I could with what I had.
Moving Forward, Without Forcing It
You don’t have to feel hopeful about the future to move forward. And you don’t have to “start over” just because the calendar changes.
Sometimes moving forward looks like giving yourself permission to take things one step at a time or to try again when you’re ready. If the past year has been heavy, making room for joy might start with making room for rest, reflection, or self-compassion. Those, too, are wins.
Wherever you are right now, you don’t have to force meaning or optimism. But if there’s even one moment you can recognize—one effort, one pause, one act of care—it can help to acknowledge it.
If it feels useful, you might reflect on questions like:
- What asked a lot of me this year?
- What helped me keep going, even in small ways?
- When did I show myself patience, care, or flexibility?
- What did I learn about my limits or what I need?
There’s no right answer. And if nothing comes to mind right away, that’s okay too.
If You Want to Take a Next Step With Your Finances
If you’d like to carry one small win into the new year, you might choose one financial goal that feels realistic for where you are right now. It does not have to be big. It can be something you revisit and adjust over time.
If you’re ready, you can set a SMART goal with MyMoneyPath. Not sure where to start? Answer a few questions, and we’ll point you to resources on our website that may be most relevant to what you’re looking for.
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