New Year, New Perspective

As the new year wraps up, many of us are carrying more guilt than gratitude.  We dwell on unfinished goals, abandoned resolutions, and the quiet feeling that we “should have done more.”

But that’s not any way to look at life.

With every failure, we are blessed with a lesson as well.  We move forward each day, and the lens we choose to view our journey shapes our perspective and self-worth.

So, rather than thinking of everything that went wrong in 2025, why not take a trip down memory lane and discover all of the moments of happiness and positivity.  And when you do run into something that didn’t go so great, try to find the lesson within it.  Because life is full of them. 

We all fail.  I’ve failed at least a dozen times this morning.  But I didn’t let it knock me down. I used it to find gratitude, education and growth.

For example, today my husband and I were discussing ways to make extra money to pay for an upcoming trip we’d like to take.  We began to brainstorm and every idea that came up in my mind, I immediately shut down.  I hated the thought of working more and missing my family.  I hated the idea of dipping into our savings for fear of depleting our just in case money.  I didn’t want to drive because it took too long, but I also didn’t want to fly because it costs too much.  All that I could see was the negative in our options and it spread quickly from complaints about the trip into complaints about everything that wasn’t going right in my life.  In my mind, the conversation snowballed (and not the fun type of snowball.)   

I found myself in such a negative mindset, so I paused, I pivoted, and I led with the grace to turn my misstep into something beautiful.

I am grateful that I am ABLE to find work and make extra money to even take a trip.  I am grateful to have money in savings to access and pay for the needs and wants of my family.

For most of us, money is always going to be a stressful topic, but it doesn’t have to be as nerve-wracking as we often make it.  I tend to look to the future and think of all of the scenarios where everything goes wrong.  I begin looking at everyone else, taking their trips, running successful businesses, getting in shape and I think to myself, why not me?

Well, why not me?

As much as I’m admiring someone for what they have, there’s someone out there admiring me for what I have.  With a quick shift in perspective, it’s easy to see these attributes in my life as well, I just need to look.

Comparison is a thief of joy.

Many times we see others succeeding and we compare ourselves to them.  But what we are seeing is an end result of an often long and arduous process. 

So can we stop the pity party?

As you look back at the past year learn from your mistakes and celebrate your wins.  Maybe you’re not great at something yet, but I bet you’re better than when you started.  There is no finish line, so change your mind as often as you’d like, do what makes you happy and be happy with what you do.

A new year is upon us: make room for failure, give yourself permission to stray from the plan, and celebrate every victory.

Sometimes all it takes is a pause, a pivot and a bit of positivity to see that the world is yours for the taking.