Well, here we are… the very last day of 2023. This one flew by, but the years do seem to speed up, the older I get. I’ve long held a somewhat skewed perception of both New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Growing up, I loved these days. With each new year, it seemed like technology was advancing at a historic rate, and there was an overwhelming feeling within me that truly felt that I was witnessing the future unfolding before my very eyes. I was a kid during the fall of the Soviet Union as well as the dismantling of the Berlin Wall, and I remember feeling hopeful as the world seemed to be headed towards a peaceful state unlike anything that had been seen in quite some time, definitely in my lifetime. Yet, the years went on and, sadly, just as so many of us experience, a much more jaded and cynical version of me started to emerge.
Suddenly, these two days each year witnessed me participating in the tired old game of making resolutions that I knew all too well that I wouldn’t keep. Another thing I fell victim to for far too many years, was the attitude that the ending year was a “horrible” one and that I “couldn’t wait for it to be over”. I was scrolling through some social media a few days ago and I literally lost count of the posts that had similar offerings. “This year sucked. Good riddance.”, one said. “I’ll be so glad when this year is behind me.”, another stated. I don’t think I need to go on as we all are very familiar with these types of sayings. Heck, many of us may have even made similar statements, whether now or in the past. Personally, as this year has come with a major transformation, it saddens me to see so many who, in my opinion, are fighting a winless battle, and I’d like to speak to this today.
Let’s dial it back a little bit… let’s take the past week and dive in to how good and/or bad it may have been. For me, the past week started off really, really well. It was Christmas Eve, and the family and I were full of cheer and laughter. Christmas Day came and went and, although this was the tightest Christmas for us, financially, I must say it was the best to date. The day after Christmas, things started to take a bit of a downhill slide. First, Ol’ Red (my truck) decided that it was time for me to put in a couple of days of work into her as I removed, rebuilt, and re-installed her fuel bowl and some related fuel line seals. This is comparable to a heart transplant. As I talked about in the intro to this newsletter, I am no mechanic, and those two days came with all of the emotions. Next, I got sick. Yep, out of nowhere, I got really sick and was down for a couple of days. Finally, the remaining days of the week came with some nice downtime with the family, the tractor work on the driveway, and as I sit here today, we are looking forward to having some friends over for a bonfire and some good eating later on this evening. I’m still on the mend, but am feeling much better so it should be a good time for all.
So, there are two ways I can look at this past week. It’s that simple, and it boils down to a mere choice…
One way to look at it, is through a dark lens. We were broke on Christmas, my truck broke down, and I was sick. What a horrible week.
The other way to look at it, is through a much more optimistic lens. My family and I had the best Christmas in memory and we feel closer than we ever have, I learned even more about my truck and was able to fix it “resourcefully” for under $150.00, and I got some much needed tractor work done on our driveway, all with a couple of days to spare for some rest and relaxation.
Now, I don’t know about you, but I prefer to look at this past week from an optimistic point of view. Did I get sick? Yes, but guess what? It happens. We all get sick from time to time. We all stumble and fall, but we get back up ad we keep moving forward.
“Life” is always going to happen. Some of it is in our control, but the majority of it is far from it. The focus shouldn’t be on what happened to you, rather on how you grew from it. This is where you’ll find the obvious and commendable progress that you have made throughout the past week, month, or year.
And, to be completely fair, I know that life can throw much bigger things at you other than a vehicle repair or a brief sickness. Please do not think for one moment that I don’t take this into consideration.
I was chatting with a dear friend this morning about the recent loss of her mother and how she continues to struggle with it all. For her, this year will carry with it the marker of her dear mother’s passing and, understandably so, this will cloud her memories of 2023 with more darkness than others, and that is okay. I’m not here to say that every year has to be reflected upon with nothing but joy and comfort. We all have those years that we would never want to relive, but we all came to the end of those years a much different person than the one that went into it at the beginning.
This is the key point I want to make here today… whether good, bad, or indifferent, the years will come and go. We’ll experience triumph, failure, love, loss, and everything in between. The constant throughout these years should be our resolve to let these years shape us and mold us as we keep our sights set on being the best version of ourselves, year after year. Just be careful of one thing… although our resolve should be a constant, that doesn’t mean we don’t change. We must embrace the fact that parts of ourselves will change, and with that change we will undoubtedly be surrendering things of our past. Don’t resist this change. Just as a child outgrows their clothes and shoes, we outgrow parts of ourselves. Some of it comes with age, some of it comes with personal growth, and some of it even comes without our realization, but holding onto someone we once were will only keep us in these stagnant patterns of ill will and feelings of misfortune.
I encourage each of you to partake in a little exercise at some point today. If and when you have a quiet moment, take out a pen and paper, and make two lists…. On the left side of the page, make a list of all that you have accomplished this year. Don’t skip over the bad and make absolutely sure not to skip over the good, no matter how small it may seem. Next, make a list of all that you hope to accomplish in the year ahead. Be realistic here, don’t make a list that is certain to overwhelm you from the word go. On that same note, be gentle with yourself as there are many things that you will indeed accomplish as well as those that you’ll have to put on the list for the following years. Finally, once you have these in front of you, I want you to reflect on the person that just made these lists. Who are you today and how have you grown from this point last year? Most of all, who do you want to be when you make these lists next year? Keep these thoughts and this list with you to reference from time to time, announce to the world that “it ain’t seen nothin’ yet”, and get out there and give it all that you’ve got.
As for me, I now look forward to who I’ll be at the end of the year ahead, and I can finally say that I like the person that made these lists this year. I look forward to meeting the person who makes them a year from now.
Until then, have a safe and happy new year, everyone. I cannot thank you all enough for the amazing support that you continue to give, and I am beyond excited for the year to come. Cheers!