The New Year's Jar

It's the first day of the new year, the time of the year where people are scrambling to set goals and wishes, or wandering in a daze as to how the year went by so fast. I would land somewhere between the two extremes.
Regardless, the new year has a way of bringing stress along with the excitement. A reminder for the frazzled, you don't need New Year's to change your habits or set a goal to achieve. In fact depending on your lifestyle, January 1st may be the worst time of the year to add more to your plate. So cut yourself some slack and don't give up. Its never too late to improve upon yourself and learn something new. One way to help you stay focused on your goals is to stay positive.

I'm a fan of fun traditions, one of my favorite New Year's traditions that I have been following for many years now is something I like to call the New Year's jar. Its a simple mason jar, or any container that you fancy, and throughout the year you put notes in it. Small slips of paper recalling fun trips you went on, special moments, or really anything that made you happy. You can make a point to add a slip every day, week, month, or simply when it strikes you.
On New Year's, you take out all the slips one at a time, and read through the fun things that happened to you that year. I've found this is a huge mood booster to fight the stress of the new year. It's also a great memento, you can keep the papers and make a scrapbook, or you can simply cherish the memory of looking through them over the past years.

On New Years day, when I've finished looking through my papers, I empty the jar and start over for the next year. Its such a simple, yet powerful way to stay positive and remember all the good that has happened to you. Look on the bright side this year, go for your goals with all you've got, and remember you don't need to wait for New Year's to do something awesome.

Tell me, have you ever tried a New Year's Jar?

Enigma