Be careful of the thoughts you get this time of year. Yes, you worked hard all year. Yes you deserve those things you wished but kept postponing,  yes you have more responsibilities next year and you’re wondering “if not now, then when?”

This is your frantic ego mind, nagging you to take care of yourself  by acquiring more, “come on, this is the last window you have, it’s the end of the year so before you know it you’ll be getting gifts for everybody else!” it says. And you fall for it, as if your wishlist  will disappear by Jan 1st. As if those cravings will not be replaced by new ones sooner than you think possible. “Wow, it would feel really great to start the new year having this notebook and those candles and that outfit. It will match the new me”. At least, this is my internal dialogue every year.

The above was a draft I wrote last year and didn’t publish. Maybe, because -counter to my own advice- I did all the above and got a lot of what was on my wishlist.  However, a reminder I set up last year showed up on my phone at the end of October telling me: “your december expenses are the triple of any other month, so plan accordingly”. Yes, I set reminders one year in advance to avoid going crazy and forget all the commitments I already have without wishlist shopping. It was really helpful to be more mindful about my expenses while enjoying this magical time of year.

Funny, however, how the same thoughts I wrote are running again in my mind so I totally got hooked by a marketing message for a makeup set playing along the same thought lines, “Best year ever, 2018” the tagline stated. Well, yes! I will get the makeup bag that will help my next year be the best ever, thank you very much. I was mindful about how the message resonated with my end-of-year trend but did it anyway. The message and gold packaging indeed closed the sale for me.  Being aware of something is different than acting on it, I admit. So I’m going to read my advice again and take it slow and buy what I really love and  already planned for, like saving on kids’ outfits on black friday.

Getting new calendars and journal for the new year is also one of my favorite pre-planned things to do. I’m already all set up with Ausitn Kleon’s wall calendar and Gretchen Rubin’s page-a-day calendar because they accompanied me in 2017 which is a year I am deeply grateful for. They are now symbols I love to have on my desk to remind me of what matters, but that’s another post.