Ending the Year However You Want

Written By Stacy Raye Kellogg

🔑 No pressure. Just permission.

The last day of the year has a way of creating urgency. Noise. Pressure. The sense that we should squeeze in just a little more productivity before midnight.

But I keep coming back to a simpler question:
​What do I want to give myself permission for?

In the last two weeks, I went on a mini road trip to Memphis with dear friends, then took a 30-hour solo getaway to Miami (pics down below!). Both were joyful and grounding. I didn’t work much. I didn’t try to get ahead. I let myself be present.

When I got home, though, the familiar urgency crept back in. The urge to make up for time off with housecleaning, bookkeeping, closet cleanouts, junk drawer decluttering, and all the things that suddenly feel oh so necessary before the year ends.

My nervous system was acting like it was Y2K.

But the world isn’t ending. I’m okay. And I don’t need to earn my rest or joy.

This time of year makes it especially easy to over-do and over-give. To keep pushing, often in service of others. Liana Naima’s words land deeply for me:
​“I have never met an over-giver that isn’t starving for their own attention.”

What if this moment, right now, is an invitation to give yourself some of that attention?

Feeling like we’re enough doesn’t come from finishing everything. It’s an inside job.

As Tosha Silver's "Being Enough" oracle card says:
​“You are enough. Nowhere to go, nothing to get, nothing to change.”

Tonight, I’m practicing this in a small but joyful way. I’m curating my [verrrrry sparkly! ✨] Stevie Nicks outfit for a New Year’s Eve dance party with a Fleetwood Mac cover band. Giving myself permission to go all out has been unexpectedly delightful. No productivity required. Just joy.

Psychologist Nicola Jane Hobbs offers a reframe I love:
​“Instead of asking, ‘Have I worked hard enough to deserve rest?’ I’ve started asking, ‘Have I rested enough to do my most loving, meaningful work?’”

As you cross into the new year, my hope for you is simple.

That you give yourself permission.​
To slow down.
To soften.
Even to boogie down!
To choose a new beginning that actually feels good to you.

You don’t have to earn it.

Happy New Year. 💛

PS. If you’d like some gentle structure and support in January, here are two upcoming ways to join me:

Both are invitations, not obligations. You get to decide what feels right.

PPS. Here's my favorite Fleetwood Mac song I may or may not be listening to on repeat today.

Stacy Raye Kellogg https://www.stacyrayekellogg.com
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When perfection gets in the way of presence