The month of December always serves as a season of reflection for me. I take inventory on my life and do a self-assessment to gauge how I feel in terms of my overall happiness and take a look at any variances to assess how I can close any gaps in my life (in terms of where I’m at versus where I would like to be). I am a person who takes a tremendous amount of pride in being thoughtful and intentional with my life, so I believe that New Year’s Eve and the week leading up to it, should be about tying up loose ends, cleansing any energies within my spaces or myself, and actively taking steps to create new energy and opportunities along with setting me up for success to achieve my goals moving forward. Many of my clients ask me about my methodology and process for what I do in the final week of the year, so I thought I would share my best practices with you all to empower and assist in your preparation for the year ahead.

1.Take some time in solitude to reflect and visualize how you want your life to look from all facets. Mental, Emotional, Spiritual, Physical, Financial and Occupational.

2. Make a list of goals: personal, professional, and financial.

3. Deep clean your home. This serves as an act for loving on your space as an expression of gratitude. I am a big believer of the phrase "deserve before you desire," so if you desire something greater than your current circumstance, I believe it is important to take good care of what you currently have today. It also serves as a great way to clear your mind. One of my favorite church phrases is, "how you keep your space, it a reflection of your state of mind." So it is one of my favorite personal practices to keep myself organized and on point.

4. Clean your bedding, and ideally purchase new ones if you are able. Changing your bedding annually isn't a necessity, but is a nice way to release the past and bring newness into your space.

5. Sage and Palo Santo your home to purify and cleanse the energy in your space.

6 .Get a Manicure and Pedicure. If this isn't something that is a part of your routine self-care and personal maintenance, it is a great way love on yourself, feel fresh and pampered.

7.Cut your hair as a symbolic ritual practice. Getting your hair trimmed is more than just cutting physical dead ends. Hair holds energy, so symbolically dead ends hold energy that you no longer need. Therefore, cutting off all split ends is a great way to release old energies that no longer serve you.

*Ideally hair cutting as a ritualistic practice is best done during a full moon, because it represents and time of closure and release. So if you are able it is ideal to schedule your haircut on the last full moon of the year, and if not during the last week of the year.

8.Sort through your wardrobe. Similarly to hair cutting, holding onto old garments will trap unneeded energies in your space. Our clothing tells the stories of the various chapters of our lives, so sorting and then donating unwanted items is a great way to positively turn the energy around by giving the items new life for others to enjoy. I personally like donating items to Skid Row’s Midnight Mission or the DTLA Domestic Violence Women's Shelter. For items you are having trouble parting with other options are intentionally finding individuals to gift the item to so you are intentional with where it’s new home will be, while alternatively you can also sell items that still hold monetary value with digital resellers online or in-store.

9. The day of New Year’s Eve I make the following 4 lists to reflect on the year:

-What I'm thankful for.

-What I've learned.

-What I've accomplished and proud of.

-What I want God to work on in me and in my life for the future.

*With these lists I do my personal best to dig as deep as possible focusing on both the tangible and intangible. As the years pass, these list will serve as roadmap that allow you to see how far you've come throughout the years, and allow you to celebrate the journey.

10. Attend Watch-Night Service at Church. This has been my favorite ritual for more than a decade. I always remember hearing from the older church members while I was in my early twenties say, “However you end your year, is how you spend your year.” And there is no place I would rather be than in Church for New Year’s Eve. My routine prior to church service is dressing up and going to a nice dinner with my family. The combination of doing these things on NYE, has helped to create a tremendous amount of grounding and centeredness within myself which allows me to wake up New Year’s Day refreshed, focused, and confidently ready to conquer the year ahead.