Closing the Year Kindly- Letting go with Grace
- Tracy Douthwaite
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
As we come to the end of another year, I’ve been reflecting on how much pressure we place on ourselves during this season — often without even noticing. The “shoulds,” the expectations, the comparison, the push to do more, plan more, achieve more.
And yet… if we look closely at nature, at the rhythm of the seasons, Winter is whispering something entirely different:
Slow down, Rest, Soften. Release. But that’s rarely what the world encourages.
The Noise of the Season
To be completely honest, this year the noise has felt even louder for me — the emails, the offers, the pressure to keep up with trends, strategies, funnels, videos, sales, Black Friday EVERYTHING.
It all feels like such a mismatch for what this season is really asking of us. Perhaps you’ve felt it too — that tug away from yourself, that sense your nervous system can only take so much deciding, doing, scrolling, and consuming.
There’s a frantic energy to the outside world at this time of year, and it can grasp at us, pulling us into stress mode before we even realise it. But here’s the truth I keep returning to: I don’t want to live like that. I don’t want to build a business like that. I don’t want to make choices from that place.
Because beneath all the noise, there’s a quiet voice inside each of us that says: "Slow down. Breathe. You don’t have to do it that way.” Winter invites us to lean into that voice.
🍃 Letting Go with Grace
The end of the year brings a natural opportunity to gently release the things that feel too heavy to carry forward — the habits that drain you, the expectations that no longer fit, the pressure that keeps you constantly striving.
Letting go doesn’t have to be dramatic or intense. It doesn’t have to come with resolutions, declarations, or a long list of improvements. Letting go can be soft, slow, and deeply kind.
It can look like:
dropping the pressure to be productive all the time
loosening your grip on old expectations
recognising where you’ve been pushing too hard
allowing yourself to rest without guilt
choosing gentleness over urgency
What if this year, instead of resolutions, we embraced a different question: “What can I release so I can enter the new year with more ease?”
✨ Year-End Gratitude Practice
10 Moments That Mattered
Instead of focusing on goals, outcomes, or what you “should have” done, try shifting your attention to the moments that held meaning. Take a quiet moment and list ten of them — they don’t have to be big. They might be tiny sparks of joy or small acts of courage:
⭐ a calm morning
⭐ a conversation that warmed you
⭐ a boundary you held
⭐ something you learned about yourself
⭐ a moment you chose rest
⭐ a laugh you didn’t expect
⭐ time spent with someone you love
⭐ something you completed (even if small)
⭐ a challenge you moved through
⭐ a moment where you were proud of yourself
These moments are the threads that shaped your year — not the tasks or achievements but the feelings, the connections, the personal growth. This practice invites gratitude without forcing positivity. It's gentle, grounding, and honest. You can use this sheet for your 10 moments.
🌲 A Soft Ritual for Today
A Personal Practice Using the Power of the Season
You might want to try this as a small winter ritual — a moment just for you.
✨ Turn off your phone for one hour.
✨ Step outside, even briefly. Let the season speak to you — the cold air, the bare branches, the muted sky.
✨ Place your hand on your heart and ask: “What do I need right now?”
✨ Then… just listen. No fixing. No striving. No planning the next thing.
Allow yourself to simply be.
You don’t have to earn rest. You don’t have to hustle your way into the new year. You don’t have to turn every quiet moment into productivity. Winter is here to teach us a softer way.
💚 Closing the Year Kindly
As we move through these final weeks of the year, I want to offer you this:
You are allowed to end the year gently. You are allowed to release what’s heavy. You are allowed to choose rest over resolutions.
And you are allowed to enter the new year without a plan — just a heart that feels a little lighter, a little softer, and a little more connected to itself.
Wishing you a peaceful, grounded winter season. May you find the quiet moments that bring you back home to yourself.
Tracy x
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