The End of the Year Energy Shift: How Not to Self-Sabotage When You’re This Close

There’s something about the end of the year that brings up a very specific flavor of chaos. It’s nostalgic and reflective, sure, but it’s also this weird pressure-cooker moment where you suddenly become aware of everything you did… and everything you didn’t do.

And this is usually the exact moment we start self-sabotaging.

Not because we’re flawed or weak or “not disciplined enough,” but because transitions activate the nervous system. When we’re stepping out of one energetic season and into another, the mind tends to cling to whatever is familiar — even if the familiar thing is the very pattern we’re trying to break.

Here’s what I mean:

You spend the year healing, growing, building momentum, finding your voice again… and then December hits and the brain goes, “Wait, wait, wait. We’re really doing this? We’re really changing?”

Cue the urge to procrastinate. Or shut down. Or spiral. Or give up early so you don’t have to risk feeling disappointed later.

This is the moment to stay awake.

Because energetically, the end of the year is a closing gate, not a finish line. It’s the final exhale of the Chinese calendar’s cycle — the Snake year (2025) preparing to wind down, shed old skins, and slither into a completely new landscape of energy.

Snake years make us shed what’s fake, what’s forced, what’s out of alignment. That’s why 2025 brought up so much shadow, healing, gut stuff, identity shifts, business restructuring, and “who the hell am I becoming?” moments for me. It wasn’t personal. It was the frequency of the year trying to help you evolve, whether you felt ready or not.

The energy we’re stepping into next is different. It’s lighter, more forward-moving, more “let’s build the thing we’ve been preparing for.” Snakes shed. Dragons rise. Dragons take up space. Dragons stop apologizing.

But here’s the part most people miss:

If you don’t close the year consciously, you drag the old patterns into the new cycle.

This is why end-of-year sabotage hits so hard. Your nervous system is trying to keep you in last year’s identity. Your energy wants to move forward, but your habits are trying to stay behind.

So… how do you walk through this transition without falling back into your old shit?

Here’s what actually works:

1. Slow down instead of speeding up. When you feel the panic, the pressure, the “I didn’t do enough,” pause. Breathe. Slowing down is not laziness — it’s a reset button for your nervous system.

2. Don’t set resolutions from fear. If the intention is rooted in “I need to fix myself,” it won’t stick. If it’s rooted in “I’m ready to grow,” it will.

3. Notice the old patterns trying to come back. This is the part where you lovingly say, “Not this year.” Sabotage is just an outdated coping skill trying to stay alive.

4. Make space instead of trying to control everything. Snakes create transformation through release, not force. Let this year close gently.

5. Decide the energy you’re choosing to bring into the next cycle. Not the tasks. Not the goals. The energy.

   
   

Ask yourself: Who am I becoming? What version of me do I want to walk into the new year? What habits match that version? What habits don’t?

This is how you honor both cycles — the Snake’s shedding and the Dragon’s rise.

We’re not meant to sprint into the new year. We’re meant to transition.

Let the old patterns die off. Let the new ones take root. And don’t confuse discomfort with failure — it’s just the energetic shift moving through you.

You’re closer than you think. Don’t abandon yourself in the last stretch. 😉