YAY! It’s New Year’s Eve!  You know what that means, don’t you?  It’s time to sit down with a pen and paper and make a list of everything I did wrong this year or want to do better next year, like I do every year.  Isn’t that exciting? …  *pause with big cheesy smile* … Wait a minute, this sounds an awful lot like almost every day of the year.  In a world filled with social media, highlight reels and “life is perfect” facades, I judge myself harshly all the time.  I’m always pointing out things I should/could be doing better or need to change.  So how is New Year’s any different?  Does the fact that a new calendar year starts automatically mean I can make everything on my list a reality?  If past years are any indication of how that turns out, then I have some news…. I don’t think anything will change.

Is that really a bad thing?  Let’s think about this for a moment.  I have a group of friends that I was talking to about my failures and short comings this year.  How I didn’t do this or that good enough.  How I felt like I was letting people down, although I was doing my best.  That this year was a tough one (although it could have been worse).  One friend decided to ask a question of us all: What were all of your accomplishments this past year? I don’t want to hear goals for 2016, I want to know what you did well this year.  Huh.  What is this?  Celebrating all the good things this year?

I’m sure many people use New Year’s as a time to reflect on the great things of the past year, I’ve just never been one of them.  I try hard to always see the bright side even in times of stress.  It’s something I have to consciously work at.  It has just been one of those years where I have been tested very hard.  Surprisingly, I had quite a list of accomplishments for myself this year.  It was so uplifting to share all of those things and I smiled as I did so.  Hearing what everyone else accomplished this year also made me feel incredibly inspired.  Sure, many of us didn’t meet some goals that we set, but it wasn’t the end of the world! It was okay and we still all accomplished great things.

So before you sit down to write your inevitable list of goals, yes I’m still making mine, think about your accomplishments!  Did you make it to more of your kid’s games this year than last?  Did you make more meals at home to save on budget versus eating out than prior years?  Maybe you took more time to show your appreciation to those who matter most to you or gave more to charity.  Did you reach financial goals or at least make an effort to do better?  Did you have more family game nights or finally take that vacation you’ve been wanting?  Did you get a degree or a new job you wanted?  How about love?  Did you fall in love or did you have the courage to leave a relationship that was hurting you?  Did you finally finish a book? I did, haha, took me all year!  Whether your accomplishments are colossal or tiny, if they made you happy or improved your life in the slightest, they are worth noting!  Once you look at your accomplishments and things that made you so happy, it’s easier to write that goal list and have it be one to truly enrich YOUR life., not to reach something that you think you are supposed to.

Happy New Year!  I hope that you had many accomplishments in 2015! I’d love to hear them.