As we near the end of 2021, it’s a good time to look back and reflect about everything that we experienced and to prepare for the future. The year 2021 was supposed to be the end of the pandemic. Life tried to return to normal, but now we are faced with a new, and potentially dangerous variant: the Omicron. We don’t know much about it yet, but it does seem to dominate the newscasts these days. But now what we need to is reflect on the year behind us and decide what kinds of things we want to focus on for the year ahead of us. We have a second chance to bring things back to whatever normal will look like, post-pandemic. Maya Angelou said it best when she said this: "I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better." Spend some time thinking about what you did this past year, both your successes and failures. Then reflect on how you can improve on the outcomes. If what you did was successful, great! You can repeat that behavior, tactic, process, whatever it was knowing you will likely succeed again. But if what you did failed in some way, how can you apply what you learned? Can you improve on the behavior, tactic, process, whatever it was? In 2022, we will be given another chance to do something successful. In fact, every day we are given another chance to correct the mistakes of the past or create new experiences to learn from. New mistakes? Sure. But, in the words of Anurag Prakash Ray, A second chance doesn’t mean anything if you didn’t learn from your first chance. (Medrut, 2021) Some things to reflect on include what to do with the past? Should we just forget it? Ignore it? Or learn from it? Here’s another quote about the past that rings true: Any new beginning is forged from the shards of the past, not from the abandonment of the past. –Craig D. Lounsbrough (Lindsey, 2020) Other things to reflect on include the goals you set at the beginning of the year. Did you set goals? Not everyone does, but for those that did, did you reach them? For those that didn’t, will you set goals in 2022? Look at past goals, whether or not they were New Year’s Resolutions or just random goals set through the year. If you didn’t reach them, why not? Is there something you can do differently to reach them this next year? Or were they even reachable goals? Can they be abandoned and replaced with new goals? Remember, it’s not failure if you learned something from it. Rather than being despondent about failure, think of it like this: Failing is easy. Trying again takes courage. (Insperity Staff, n.d.) Once you try something and fail, think about getting back on the horse, as the saying goes. It takes courage to admit that you failed, and then to try again to achieve the same goal, this time with a new strategy. Give yourself a second chance if the goal is one you want to achieve. Let go of the past methodology and use what you learned to come up with a new one. References
Insperity Staff. (n.d.). Learning from failure: 5 inspiring life lessons. Retrieved from Insperity: https://www.insperity.com/blog/learning-from-failure/ Lindsey. (2020, August 16). The Best Year-End Reflection to Make Next Year Awesome. Retrieved from believetobe: https://www.believetobe.co/2020/08/year-end-reflection/ Medrut, F. (2021). 20 Quotes About Second Chances That Will Make You Stop and Think. Retrieved from Goalcoast: https://www.goalcast.com/second-chances-quotes/
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We’re in the midst of the holiday season. Halloween is past, Thanksgiving is next week, followed closely by Christmas and New Year’s. Not to mention the numerous other holidays celebrated throughout the fall/winter season. Some of you are excited about the festivities, reveling in the decorations, the music, the gift giving and receiving, and the seemingly endless parties. Others of you may be not quite so thrilled at the constant hustle and bustle of the season. Some emotions felt during this time include loneliness, sadness, stress, even despondency. This is the time to think about the things that make you feel these emotions and try to avoid some of those triggers. If you’re worried about not having enough money to buy all the presents you believe are expected of you, try setting a budget. Better yet, think of the kinds of gifts you can give that don’t cost anything. The Landmark Credit Union has posted a list of gifts that don’t cost money, but will be appreciated just as much as that pricy bauble:
In my book, Self Esteem and Your Unique Style of Fit, I list a series of affirmations that you can use to help pull yourself out of the holiday doldrums if you find yourself there. The Love Affirmation Technique Repeat 1-2 times a day with Boldness and Confidence!
Definition of keep up with the Joneses informal + often disapproving to show that one is as good as other people by getting what they have and doing what they do (Definition of Keep up with the Joneses, n.d.) Stop comparing yourself with others. Everyone celebrates in their own way and out-doing the neighbors is not the way to becoming happy during the holidays. Instead of becoming frustrated and angry at the increased traffic, long lines in the stores, or even COVID restrictions causing problems in our daily life, if you remember the reason for the season and show love and compassion for those around you, you can’t help but have a fulfilling and happy holiday season. References
Definition of Keep up with the Joneses. (n.d.). Retrieved from Mirriam-Webster: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/keep%20up%20with%20the%20Joneses Gifts that Don't Cost Anything. (2020, November 11). Retrieved from Landmark Credit Union: https://landmarkcu.com/blog/november-2020/gifts-that-don%E2%80%99t-cost-anything/ Pullman, A. (2019). Self Esteem and Your Unique Style of Fit. Annadale, Virginia: Independently Published. Welcome to November and the start of the giving season! According to those that are in the know … November is gratitude month! So, this month, take a moment every day to think of something you are grateful for. I’ll start: Today, I’m grateful for all of you! Thanks for reading my posts every other Monday and thanks for taking care of yourselves! According to the dictionary, Gratitude is a noun that means the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness. (Gratitude, n.d.) When thinking about gratitude and its relationship to our everyday lives, think of the seventh Spiritual Law of the Universe, as discussed in my book, Self Esteem and Your Unique Style of Fit. (Pullman A. , Self Esteem and Your Unique Style of Fit, 2019) 7. The Law of Cause and Effect One of the most straightforward laws of the universe, the Law of Cause and Effect tells us that all actions have a corresponding reaction. You already know this, of course, when it comes to the physical aspects of the world. However, perhaps you haven’t considered how this law might be applied to the spiritual aspects of our universe. Your spiritual life can impact the world around you, causing positive or negative reactions. Similarly, your physical environment can impact your spirituality, whether for good or for ill. Ask yourself what types of relationships you see between the spiritual and the physical, and how you might want to change them. What this means in the context of gratitude, is when you give thanks to someone for something they did, you can experience a positive effect. This is further discussed in the Harvard Medical School’s article titled Giving Thanks Can Make You Happier. (Giving Thanks Can Make You Happier, 2021) In that article, the author contends that gratitude is a thankful appreciation for what an individual receives, whether tangible or intangible. With gratitude, people acknowledge the goodness in their lives. In the process, people usually recognize that the source of that goodness lies at least partially outside themselves. As a result, being grateful also helps people connect to something larger than themselves as individuals — whether to other people, nature, or a higher power. (Giving Thanks Can Make You Happier, 2021) In an article on Abbott’s website, the five reasons why giving thanks is good for you are listed:
Well now, it seems that if we continue with our thanks-giving throughout this whole season and beyond, there are even more benefits available to us! Time to embark on the season – remember to think of something every day that you are grateful for! References
5 Reasons Why Giving Thanks is Good for You. (2017, February 1). Retrieved from Abbott: https://www.abbott.com/corpnewsroom/nutrition-health-and-wellness/why-giving-thanks-is-good.html Giving Thanks Can Make You Happier. (2021, August 14). Retrieved from Harvard Health Publishing: https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/giving-thanks-can-make-you-happier Gratitude. (n.d.). Retrieved from Merriam-Webster: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gratitude Pullman, A. (2019). Self Esteem and Your Unique Style of Fit. Annadale, Virginia: Independently Published. |
AuthorI am a Performance Enhancement Specialist with a background in Emergency Psychiatric Medicine and Community Addiction. Archives
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