The other morning I got in the shower and I was overcome with this feeling of regret. I was awash in all the things I have not managed to make happen in 2019. I was focused on something in particular I just haven’t been able to complete this year. And I am disappointed. I have been focused on accomplishing this one thing for a good while now.

But almost as quickly as I was nearly overtaken with regret, disappointment and frustration my mind shifted. And I thought to ask myself, what about all the things you HAVE done this year? What about all the things you did complete? What about all the things you did make happen?

And in the shower, with shampoo all frothy and soapy in my hair, I felt myself relax. I have done good things this year. I have made great strides. All of that to really say what we are all basically wanting to prove all the time: I am OK. I am doing OK. It will be OK. It is OK. That’s where much of our striving originates – from a feeling of lack. We push ourselves because we aren’t sure already that we are enough.

But when we ask ourselves about what we have accomplished, it automatically pushes us into a place of abundance. And if that’s not our normal environment, it will feel uncomfortable. Isn’t it weird, how we’ll resist thinking about our successes even though almost every single minute of our lives we push ourselves to do more, be more? It’s a paradox that we will enjoy the good life when we get there but but we frequently push it away at every step. If you aren’t sure that’s true, ask yourself how well you take a compliment.

And so this year before you start your resolutions, promises and never-agains that often come with a dash of self-recrimination I invite you to do something wild and unorthodox. I encourage you to be rebellious in the face of all the criticism the world at-large can deliver. Sit down for a good period of time and write down every single thing you accomplished, finished, stuck to, overcame, and/or lived through this year. Every SINGLE THING.

Nothing is too small. In fact, start with the small things. If you went through a trying time and you still got out of bed every day (or most days) when you really wanted to give up, write that down. If you said to yourself, I will give it one more effort even though you were scared and/or defeated, write it down.

We so frequently run the tape of our seeming litany of failures in our minds. The very least we can do is spend 20 minutes at least once this year considering our achievements in writing.

Sunshine & Sarcasm,
Lowi & G