In this age of Facebook, Twitter, and other social media, the year-end Christmas or holiday letter has become an endangered species. Even our farthest-flung family members and friends know what's new and not-so-new in our lives, and they've seen the pictures, too. There's little incentive to write a year-end synopsis, topped with a family photo of all our humans and animals—let alone spring for postage—when every detail is just a mouse click away 365 days a year.

But, if our personal computers and handheld devices have put the outward-looking year-end letter on life support, consider what might happen if you were to create an inward-looking year-end letter that looked back at 12 months yet to come, rather than recapping the past 12 turns of the calendar. Then, think about how your patients and clients might benefit from that same exercise—as facilitated by you.