Happy 2019! 11 days late because, well, life happens.
I really love the beginning of a new year. It feels like the closing of a chapter. I can dust off my hands and look back at 2018 with all its highs and lows and be grateful for where life has brought me. I can look forward with open hands about all the 2019 might bring.
One activity in the new year that I especially enjoy is filling out my calendar for the new year. I go somewhere quiet and alone, put on some music, get out my nice fine point Sharpie markers and begin color coding birthdays, anniversaries, upcoming trips, classes, activities, work times, and even a running list of fun activities to do and people I would like to see.
Maybe it’s the list checker in me or the part of me that needs fun events planned in the future to look forward to or the part of me that likes to be organized, but if even for a few minutes, I feel like I have some sort of control over the year ahead. I know that experience tells me otherwise, that this year just like all the past years, I will experience joys and challenges that I did not know I would face and experience.
Additionally, I use this time to look at the 2018 calendar and reflect upon the past year. I can see birthdays and anniversaries celebrated, trips taken, projects completed, friendships made, moved homes, changed jobs, exercises tried, etc. There have been a few years where looking back, there were more challenges then joys. This year, I am able to look back and be thankful for all that 2018 held.
Maybe you had a great 2018 or maybe it was your worst year yet, whatever your overall experience, what were some of the joys and challenges that 2018 brought with you and what are looking forward to in 2019? (Feel free to comment in the comment section below or on the Emilie Buter Counseling Facebook page.)
