This time of year is pretty
amazing. After the hustle-bustle of
Christmas, now is the time to slow down and reflect on the past year. Every year I make a double-list entry in my
journal. On the left side I list the “Good”
and on the right side I list the “Bad” of my year.
Rarely do I list world or
political events, but rather the events in my own life that make me think about
what was good, so that I can remember to have gratitude, and what was bad, so that I can fix,
remember, honor or cope/grieve.
I won’t be making my lists
on the blog post, however. The Bad is
just too personal- even though I try to put myself out there- I just can't. And listing only
the Good would sound like a goopy Christmas letter. So.
What I want to say here
today is that we all have some really Good and some really Bad and a lot of in between in
our lives. That’s life, right? But what is most important, what makes all
the difference, is how you handle
yourself- your issues, your failures, your accomplishments, and your graces. That’s
the reason I make my list (and why I write in a journal); it helps me look at
everything that life brings- it helps me deal.
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Here are a few of my journals.
I like to find meaningful quotes
and write them down.
"life is change.
growth is optional.
choose wisely."
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Along with my Good and Bad
list, I always create a Goals for the New Year list. I think it’s important to think critically,
yet optimistically. There’s a saying:
‘life is what happens while you’re making plans’—and that’s true, but make
plans anyway. Life will still happen,
but with some plans in place, things will go better. A couple of my goals for this year are to
plant a garden (not new) and to harvest and preserve as much as I can from that
garden(new). I also want to eat right
and be strong and healthy (not new). Some
of my goals repeat every year, while some are new goals.
I have found that listing
goals and dreams and ideas help them to come true. Give it a try today. Write down some attainable goals—maybe even
write a plan of how to achieve them- and give it a whorl!!
Here’s to a peaceful,
productive 2016.
As always, be good to
yourself.
Nadine
