Is it a happy new year?

Today is Friday, January 6, 2023 and it’s somehow the first time I’ve had to write the date since the new year began. I’m honestly not sure how that happened, but I find it amusing.

Towards the end of one year and the beginning of the next, many people spend a lot of time reflecting on the past and looking toward the future. I’m no exception to that and I’ve spend my fair share of time pondering 2022 and wondering what 2023 will look like, not just personally but in our world. I don’t need to tell you that things have gotten a bit wild in the last few years. It’s hard to know whether it’s going to be a bright future or a dark one.

The reality is, we have a choice in the matter. We can look at the events of the past and have a very pessimistic outlook, and no one would blame us for doing so. But we also have the option of taking what we’ve learned from those events, applying that, and moving forward with optomism. We can, and should, see the good in just about anything. I was reminded of this yesterday when I came across a clip from Joe Rogan’s podcast when he had Kevin Hart on as a guest. Hart was talking about his optomistic attitude and how he remains happy even when things in his life aren’t all happy. It’s really all about mindset. The things that happen in life are not necessarily good or bad, it’s how we think about them and what we do in response that is good or bad.

I’ve started out this year by keeping a gratitude journal, which I visit in the morning. Sometimes I don’t even write new things I’m grateful for, I just revisit what I’ve said on a previous day and remain grateful for those things in my life. I’m finding this to be a helpful practice which grounds me and keeps me from having such a poor outlook. I encourage you to do this along with me and let me know how it goes for you.

Journaling can be done any way you want, but I want to share that I’ve been using a gratitude journal template on Evernote and I’m liking it so far.