December has a way of pulling us forward. What we'll do differently next year. What we'll finally start. What we'll fix. But before we get there, I want to press pause and look backward—not at what you didn't do, but at what you did.
Here's the thing: we're wired to notice what's incomplete. The goal we didn't hit, the habit that didn't stick. Meanwhile, the stuff we actually did just fades into the background. Our brains scan for problems, not victories. That instinct kept us alive thousands of years ago—now it just keeps us feeling behind.
So this week, we're flipping the script. Instead of looking at what's missing, let's notice what's already there.
What You'll Find in This Edition:
🍖 Food: What you loved most this year
💪 Movement: What actually counted
🧠 Mindset: How to close out the year without the pressure
The soft cover and ebooks are finally available!
🍖 FOOD: What You Loved Most This Year
Before you start overhauling your meal prep for January, let's appreciate what already worked.
This Year's Most Viewed Recipe: Crispy Rice Salad
You clicked, you made it, you came back for more. Crunchy, fresh, satisfying, and comes together without much fuss. If you haven't tried it yet, consider this your sign.
This Year's Most Requested Recipe: Traditional Brisket
This one kept coming up in your messages. Tender, flavourful, fills the house with warmth, and the leftovers are the best! The kind of dish that feels like a celebration without being complicated.
What Else Counts:
The Tuesday night you kept everyone fed even though you were exhausted.
The freezer meal that saved you.
The breakfast-for-dinner no one complained about.
The snack plate you called dinner because that's what you had in you.
All of that counts.
If the brisket has been on rotation in your kitchen, there's a whole cookbook full of recipes just like it. Love What's On Your Plate has simple, nourishing meals that actually get made—not just bookmarked.
💪 MOVEMENT: What Counted This Year
Before you start thinking about what your workout routine "should" look like next year, let's look at your wins.
Why This Matters: We tend to only count the official stuff—gym sessions, classes, runs with a playlist. But movement is so much bigger than that.
What Counts:
The walk around the block to clear your head.
The dance party in the kitchen while dinner was cooking.
The stairs you took instead of the elevator.
Stretching on the living room floor while half-watching TV.
Chasing kids.
Carrying groceries.
Shovelling snow.
The ten-minute walk that saved your sanity on a hard day.
You don't need a perfect routine to be someone who moves—you may already be that. It might not have looked like a training plan, but it was still your body showing up and carrying you through another year.
This Week's Challenge: Write down three ways you moved this year that you haven't given yourself credit for. Let them count.
🧠 MINDSET: Close the Year Without the Pressure
There's so much pressure to finish strong, isn't there? To cram in everything you meant to do, to sprint across December like you're proving something.
But here's what I want you to hear: you don't have to earn the new year by hustling through this one.
Why This Matters: The pressure to "end strong" is really just another way of saying you're not enough as you are. But you've already done a year—a whole one. That's enough.
Permission Slips for December:
Let some things stay undone.
Don't set goals until you're ready (January 15th is still January).
Rest more than you think you should.
Stop keeping score of what you didn't do.
Say no to the thing you really don't want to go to.
This Week's Challenge: Before you write a single resolution, ask yourself:
What am I proud of from this year, even if no one else saw it?
What felt hard that I got through anyway?
What do I want to carry forward—not because I "should," but because it actually worked?
This Year's Most Listened To Meditation: Loving Kindness
This was your go-to this year. Sometimes you just need something that helps you soften without asking anything of you. If it's been a while, come back to it.
Before You Go:
You already had a year. A full one. Let yourself see it before you start planning the next.
Here's to noticing what's already there!
More realistic strategies at svliving.com
How did this land for you?
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