Well, here we are at the end of 2008.

It’s been a tough year for a lot of folks.  People losing their jobs.  Millions of dollars lost in the stock market.  A struggling economy.  Illness.  Death.  War.  Lot’s of things we don’t like and lots of things we’d like to forget.

Want to get rid of your bad memories of 2008?

Shred them.

That’s right, put your bad memories through your shredder.

This past Sunday was the second annual Good Riddance Day in New York City.  People were invited to Times Square to run their bad memories of 2008 through an industrial shredder.  People wrote things like “stock market” and “cancer” on pieces of paper and shredded them.  One woman shredded an email from a boyfriend who had broken up with her.

Even though Good Riddance Day has passed, you could use this same idea to get rid of your bad memories of 2008.

Don’t have a shredder?  That’s okay.  Write your problem(s) on a piece of paper and tear it up.  Rip it into shreds to get rid of those bad memories.

Don’t like the sound of ripping paper?  No problem.  Crumple the paper and throw it in the trash.  Bury it in the backyard.  Write your problems on some toilet tissue and flush it down the drain.

The method you use isn’t as important as the act of getting rid of the problems.  It’s a small ritual you can perform to cast out the bad memories of the past year.

Remember, cleaning out your emotional and mental closet of the bad things allows you room to let more of the good things in.

To your happiness!