So 2020 is over, but just because a new year is here, doesn’t mean things will magically be different. Sometimes change requires effort—but don’t worry, it’s worth it in the end. If 2020 felt stifling, make 2021 your year to grow into the best version of yourself yet. But how do you do that, you ask? We talked to Pamela Dylag , certified reiki master and co-owner of Downtown Las Vegas bar Velveteen Rabbit, about how to improve one's mindset in the new year.

“I’ve compared this year with walking through mud or riding the brakes in heavy traffic,” Dylag says. “Sometimes there’s forward movement but it’s really slow, and sometimes we have to just stop.”

As someone who deals with energy healing and meditation, Dylag has studied ways to manifest optimism, starting in our minds, or “being conscious of the things we can control versus the things we cannot control,” as Dylag puts it.

So get ready to leave 2020 in the dust and approach the new year with humility and happiness. After all that you’ve been through, you deserve it.

Reflect on your top five 2020 accomplishments

“It’s really important to celebrate those victories in your life and things you’ve overcome,” Dylag says. It’s vital to acknowledge the power and role you had in making each of those things happen. When ruminating on these accomplishments, Dylag recommends thinking about what energy you were embodying in those moments. “How were you behaving? How was your mindset then?” she asks. “Reflecting on our highest points is the key to our success and can really help us shape and create more success.”

Meditate

“Meditation can take forms in so many different ways,” Dylag says. One of these ways is to embark on what some call a vision quest. “Vision meditation is using your imagination to delve into your inner world. At the end of the day, you’re your own guru,” Dylag says. “Using the clients’ imagination, I’ll take them through a meditative vision quest and have the client imagine a scenario, like, they go on a walk and find something and open a chest and see what’s inside the chest.” There, Dylag says, it’s common to see imagery with symbolism attached, and different feelings can pop up. “A lot of the work I do is about going toward your highest self, or the most ideal version of yourself,” she says. Dylag suggests envisioning that ideal version of yourself and meeting that person. “What would that person tell you?” she asks. Sometimes, imagining a conversation with the person we want to be can help us uncover the ways to get there.

Practice gratitude

“Another thing I find really important is focusing on gratitude,” Dylag says. “I’ll list 10 things I’m grateful for, starting with the fact that I’m alive.”

Get rid of what no longer serves you

If things are bogging you down emotionally or physically, the new year is the perfect time to let them go. Whether it’s a habit you realize no longer helps you, a relationship that has run dry or unhealthy coping mechanisms, Dylag says she always asks her highest self, “Is this something you’d be doing?”

“We have to let go to allow new energy to flow in,” she says. Whether it’s purging your closet or throwing away expired condiments in the fridge, decluttering things from your real life helps boost our mental and emotional states, too. “Purge things you no longer need and donate them,” Dylag says, and allow the new energy to flow freely.

Set goals

Dylag says it’s important to focus on small goals, or things that are realistic and can be done every day. “Don’t set yourself up for failure,” she says. “Keep it simple. Look six months ahead” at the furthest, because that’s attainable. “What can you realistically accomplish? And even if you don’t get there, think of five action steps you can take going toward that goal.” An action step, Dylag says, should be part of your daily practice, like getting enough sleep or eating breakfast every day.

Create a ritual

“I find it most powerful to begin your day with a practice or a little ritual,” Dylag says. If you find yourself thinking you don’t have the time, Dylag says it takes just 10 minutes to start your day with a more optimistic attitude—and that means not reaching for your phone right when you wake.

“I advise clients, the first thing you should do isn’t to be on Instagram. Focus on yourself first.” Most mornings, Dylag says, she gets up with deep breathing exercises while seated. “I check in. How am I feeling today? Then I’ll set an intention for my day. How do I want to go throughout my day?” Asking yourself these types of questions and checking in with your mental state and needs will help you be better prepared to take on whatever comes your way. “It will make a huge difference in your day,” Dylag says.