I was thinking this weekend about what a good year 2011 was for me. It was my first full year consulting, I took a month off to travel, I grew creatively and professionally. But then I remembered how many big challenges I faced last year – from too heavy a client load at times, to my dad’s repeated hospitalizations in the summer, to the unexpected (and mysterious) death of an old friend in the winter – and I thought that maybe 2011 wasn’t such a great year after all.
A wise woman (okay, a therapist) once told me, after I’d spent yet another hour dissecting all the elements of my week to determine where it fell on the good scale, “Sometimes a day is just a day, and a week is just a week. It’s neither good nor bad. It just is.”
I’ve decided not to judge 2011 (or 2012, for that matter). I won’t look at my lists of accomplishments and setbacks, tally them up, and figure out whether the net result is positive or negative. I’m not trying to rack up as many points as possible. My life is not a score card. My days, weeks, years – sometimes they’re good, sometimes they’re bad, but in the end, they just are.
I wish you a Happy New Year. This year may not be the best year of our lives, and it may not be the worst. But we’ve all been given the gift of another year; may we all do the best we can with this present.
I definitely needed to read this today. Thank you so much for posting it. 2011 was, and 2012 will be. :)
Wonderful insight! Things can be much simpler than we make them be. Thank you for posting this!
Man – I don’t think it’s possible to read that post without breathing a heavy sigh of relief at the end.
It may sound crazy, but it’s lovely to have permission of acceptance.
Thank you for the well-worded reminder.
So true Jen. Sometimes it seems we are constantly competing with others to see who accomplished the most last year.
Thanks – and Happy New Year – everyone! I read so many annual recaps and I felt like they missed the point. Let’s just all savor our time and enjoy what we’ve got instead of judging it.
Jen
Life is a journey, not a destination, right. Thanks for sharing your perspective. Cheers to a mindful 2012!
I love this! Thanks Jen.
In the evenings my husband and I have the “and how was your day” conversations. I never really thought about it but sometimes a day really is just a day. And that’s okay.