Santa has come and gone and now we find ourselves in that happy little bubble of waiting to ring in the new year. Well, I’ve seen the memes all over social media sites encouraging everyone to hold their breaths and walk in quietly to 2023.
We’ve certainly been on a wild ride the past few years. It seems like 2020, 2021 and 2022 were all a roller coaster of new issues we faced both on an individual basis and as an entire nation. From COVID-19 to the great toilet paper shortage; from record gas prices to empty baby formula shelves; from lost loved ones to record breaking inflation; we’ve seen a lot over the past few years.
Maybe, just maybe, we can find the silver lining. If nothing else, all these hardships have forced us to do something. We’ve had to learn and adapt. Sure, we might have grumbled and stomped our feet at a few things, but in the end, we all learned lessons in one way or the other.
See at the end of the day, I’m an eternal (sometimes insufferable) optimist. When things get rough or bad, I “power” through and try to look back to find the good in the moments. Ninety percent of the time it ends up being a lesson learned.
With that being said, I’m excited about what 2023 can offer. I look forward to seeing how things will play out. To be honest, I haven’t figured out what a new year’s resolution will be for me this year. The older I get, the more I realize ultimatums, cold turkey, and “all or nothing” mindsets, which often go hand in hand with New Year’s resolutions, often don’t last.
The way I see it, people and situations are never going to be straight cut “black or white”, “good or bad” or “100% this way or that way”.
The world is made up of a kaleidoscope of colors, variations and shades. Any given person will face a decision or hardship in a myriad of different ways. So, when it comes to new year’s resolutions, a wise person will recognize the challenges they might face and make the resolution obtainable to keep.
An example can be something as simple as “I’m going to work out more.” Well, this is an obtainable goal. Set times in scheduling to allow for more work out time, but don’t get discouraged when a situation arises to prevent a workout. Simply be flexible and work it in at a different time. Too many people set goals which are unobtainable and when discouragement hits, they feel the urge to throw in the towel completely.
That’s basically how I’m choosing to look at the dawning of 2023. Yes, I have hope that we will all see a better year before us than we’ve faced recently, but when the first hardship arrives (and it will), I’m not going to throw in the towel and call it another “lost” or “bad” year. We just have to get back up and try it again.
At the end of the day, we all have the power over our own mindsets. We control what we think or feel about a situation. Maybe if we all try to see a better year coming, that is in fact what we will get.
It’s my dearest wish, everyone has a beginning to a wonderful New Year. So Happy New Year, dear readers! Let’s make it a great one!
