With 2017 having come and gone and the new year already here, I want to take a moment to reflect on what 2017 taught me. I love the feeling of the new year - a fresh start, a new chapter, a new beginning - which is almost as satisfying as crawling into bed with freshly washed sheets and pillow covers, but there is something to be said for taking a moment of pause to appreciate the lessons the previous year has gifted me.
~ It feels good to face your fears ~
...and bloody scary too! 2017 was the first time in a very, very long time that I chose to step outside of my comfort zone and it was one of the best things I did for myself. I took a ride on Canada's Longest Zip-line, I traveled almost 1000km in one weekend as Ryan and I traveled around SW Ontario, and I finally booked those pesky dentist and doctors appointments I've been meaning to book for far too long. To some people these may not seem like a big deal but for me these were HUGE.
~ It's all about riding the wave ~
For a long time this has been one of my favorite quotes. In 2016 I struggled with feeling like happiness was my right, but in 2017 I finally understood that happiness is not a right, it is a privilege and that we cannot possibly be happy all of the time. Instead of allowing the lack of happiness to cause me even more grief, I tried
to embrace it as a 'valley' and a 'relaxation'. I used times of unhappiness or times where I seemed to be lacking happiness as times to rest, rejuvenate and restore.
~ Gratitude is the key to happiness ~
Gratitude really does turn everything into enough, and once I started keeping a gratitude journal and started looking for things that I was grateful for, there was no denying the abundance I have in my life. It was really eye and heart opening when I made this discovery. But like anything, gratitude is a practice and you have to keep at it to keep reaping its rewards.
~ Perspective is EVERYTHING ~
Perspective creates your reality. I never fully understood this statement until last year when I was given plenty of opportunities to see just how much of an important role perspective plays in my overall attitude, mood and contentedness. In any given situation I have a choice as to how I wish to respond, and I have a choice as
to what story I will tell myself about the situation. It is important to remember this subtle and yet almighty power we hold within us. The voice in our head can make or break us, and it is important that we use that voice to speak calm, kindness, reassurance and positivity to ourselves.
I hope to take these little gifts that 2017 has given me and really put them to good use in the new year ahead of me; I find it is important to take good lessons from the past, and bring them into our present and our future - they really are the gifts that keep giving.
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