Why the End of the Year Brings So Many Thresholds
Every year around this time, something shifts.
People start questioning choices they’ve been tolerating. Old patterns feel heavier. Truths rise that were easier to ignore a few months ago. And many people quietly wonder: Why does everything feel so tender right now?
The answer isn’t that something has gone wrong. It’s that we’ve entered a natural threshold.
Endings are part of the season — not a personal failure
The end of the year carries a very specific energy. We’re closing a cycle. Approaching the winter solstice. Entering a season of descent, reflection, and completion. Whether or not you consciously track cycles, your body does.
This is the part of the year when what’s no longer aligned becomes harder to carry. When pretending takes more energy than telling the truth. When something inside you starts to whisper, I’m done. That doesn’t mean you’re dramatic, ungrateful, or destabilized. It means you’re paying attention.
Why so many people feel “between” right now
One of the most common sensations at this time of year is the feeling of being in between. Not who you were. Not quite who you’re becoming. You may notice:
less patience for what used to feel manageable
a desire to simplify
emotional waves without a clear story
longing without a clear destination
This isn’t indecision. It’s transition. The internal season has changed — and your life hasn’t fully reorganized around it yet. That space in between is what we call a threshold.
The collective mirrors the personal
We don’t move through these seasons alone. Right now, many people are closing:
long work chapters
outdated relationship dynamics
identities built around survival rather than alignment
When you feel this internally, it’s easy to assume something is “off” with you. But often, you’re simply moving in rhythm with something much larger. Thresholds tend to arrive collectively — because truth ripens collectively.
Why clarity often feels farther away at year’s end
People often come to this time of year hoping for clarity. And instead, they find ambiguity. That can be frustrating — especially in a culture that values resolution, answers, and plans. But thresholds don’t offer clarity first. They offer truth.
Truth that something has ended. Truth that something wants to change. Truth that the old way no longer fits.
Clarity usually comes after you’ve crossed — not before. This is why trying to force answers at year’s end often feels exhausting. You’re asking the mind to resolve something that’s still unfolding in the body.
If you’re noticing that clarity hasn’t arrived yet, this may be why. Thresholds aren’t crossed by deciding — they’re crossed by staying open. I explore that more here → You Don’t Cross a Threshold by Deciding — You Cross It by Staying Open.
Thresholds ask for openness, not certainty
One of the gentlest shifts you can make during this season is letting go of the need to figure it out. Thresholds don’t ask for certainty. They ask for honesty. Honesty about what you no longer want to carry, what you’re resisting naming, and what’s quietly calling you forward.
You don’t need to rush the crossing. You don’t need to make dramatic decisions. You simply need to stop closing yourself to what’s true.
The body leads during times of descent
In seasons of descent, the body becomes a more reliable guide than the mind. You may notice:
a need for more rest
a desire to be quieter
clearer physical signals around yes and no
less tolerance for overextension
These are not signs of regression. They are signs of reorientation. The body knows how to move through thresholds when we let it lead.
A ritual for year-end transition
Because thresholds are embodied experiences, they’re best met in embodied ways. That’s why I created Heart-Led Crossing — a short ritual designed to support moments of transition, particularly at the end of cycles.
It’s a 10-minute, heart-led journey to help you meet the threshold you’re already standing in and allow the crossing to unfold with presence rather than pressure. You don’t need a plan. You don’t need answers. You only need to stay open.
→ Access Heart-Led Crossing here
You’re not meant to rush this season
If you’re feeling tender, reflective, or unsettled right now, let that be information — not a problem. This season isn’t asking you to sprint forward. It’s asking you to listen.To notice what’s completing. To honour what’s changing. To trust that the next step will reveal itself when the crossing is ready.
Thresholds don’t arrive to disrupt your life. They arrive to realign it.
