Finishing Strong: Ending the year with help from “peak-end theory”
by Gregg Krech
Do you know about Daniel Kahneman’s “Peak-End Theory”? This theory states that our memories of events are dependent upon two things: a) our experience of the most extreme (peak) point and b) how the experience ended. There’s like to be a wide variety of experiences throughout the course of an entire year, with highs and lows of all sorts, but the “peak” and “end” factors may significantly influence our memories.
Since we are all about to come to the end of an “event” (2024), let’s consider how we can apply this theory to the transition into a new year.
There’s a good chance that your most extreme “peak” point, either positive or negative, has occurred (although maybe not). But the end of your year has definitely not occurred yet.
What can you do to bring the year to a satisfying closure? How can you use the remaining days (or hours) in a constructive and inspiring way?
By creating a strong end to the year, you can influence your memory, change your mindset, and create a little positive momentum.
Many years ago Linda and I spent some time, during the last days of the year, identifying themes that we might want to act on or address in the next several days. 
These are the themes we came up with at that point in our lives, but you might have different ones. For each theme we came up with ideas for what we might do — not a to-d0 list, but a menu of possibilities.
When I was a child, my mother loved to watch horse races. We would go to Arlington Park, near Chicago, and when the race would start I would always try to get a spot next to the fence and close to the finish line. I loved to watch the last moments of the race and see the horses finish. Periodically, there would be a horse who ran most of the race in the back of the pack. But then, upon entering the final stretch, the horse would shift into turbo-charge mode and pass all the other horses and win the race. Even when this type of horse didn’t win, they still finished strong. As a child, I always admired those horses.
The new year is almost upon us. You don’t have much time. But even if you only have a few hours, just ask yourself, “What would it mean for me to finish strong?” Only you can know that answer.
May we do our best, within our circumstances, to end the year on a strong note.
And may we appreciate our good fortune in simply reaching the 2024 finish line (assuming we do)!
Cheers!
Gregg
Gregg Krech is one of the leading experts in Japanese Psychology in the U.S. and author of five books, including The Art of Taking Action. He will be conducting the Living on Purpose Distance Learning Program starting January 8, 2025. REGISTER HERE. Hope you can join us!
Tags: new year Taking Action
