Yet another year of unpredictability comes to a close. I hope that you and your family have come through this past 12 months with some strength and determination. I know it has been a year of many challenges for my family and I, but we are doing our best to remember past family successes and looking forward to what lies ahead for 2022. So how do we do that? 

Well, as we look back on the past year, we try to focus on what we did well. We look at our achievements of the year and reflect on what can be better in 2022 and what was “just right” in 2021. Even if there was suffering from COVID or your family went through illness or tragedy, how did you get through it? Identify what skills you used or who came together to work through that challenge. If we do not recognize what we did well and how we did it, then we have no way of repeating that success in the future. For example, if someone did have COVID, how did we manage to stay separated, yet get our needs met? Maybe we did a great job in forecasting our needs for the next 10 days so we could isolate and protect our family. If we had financial difficulties, we may have done an excellent job at budgeting. Look for ways we can lift confidence in ourselves and in others. 

Looking forward is not always easy. Sometimes we want to stay in the past for a reason. If there is something that prevents you from looking forward, it’s a great idea to talk to someone about that. We don’t all have to be New Year’s Resolution people, but it is good to look forward at least in some small ways to help improve situations. Even if it is to take a small step to be thankful for what you have or a small step to save $5 a week or organize one thing every month. All those small steps can add up at the end of the year.

So, as we close out 2021, what small things can you look forward to improving or adjusting so that life can be just a little bit better next year?

I thank you all for supporting my family and I this year and for believing in this newsletter and the information that it contains. I wish you all a safe and happy holiday and a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Talk to you in 2022.