Ending The Year on a Positive Note

Something that we can lose sight of is our ability to craft our own narratives. A major belief that I have is that even if something is the worst ever, there is value in surviving it. I believe that once we have survived a horrible experience, we can choose to find value in surviving. I do not think having horrible experiences in and of themselves have value, but rather the experience of being on the other side of a negative experience does. I think this because we learn from good and bad things equally as adults. When we look back at a negative experience, we can assess what we did to contribute or minimize how bad things got. Seeing how we impacted the level of negativity and toxicity provides insights into who we are when navigating difficult situations.

If you are still in a negative situation, this process can be beneficial by choosing to make real time observations of yourself. Who are you in a crisis? Are you who you want to be? These types of observations and insights give us the opportunity to grow and develop or stop and celebrate. If you are not who you want to be, ask yourself what is the first step you can take towards becoming that person. If you are who you want to be, there is room to celebrate that even difficult and traumatizing times do not change who you are. Staying true to yourself in hard times is worth celebrating.

No matter how bad things are right now, they can be improved. You can choose to work on improving yourself or celebrate how you have held the line. We must always look for what we can do and own that we are in control of our actions and our perceptions. When I look back over the roughest points of 2023, I can see that I was true to myself, and that allowed me to move through the challenges quickly. I also saw moments when I could have done better, and that allowed me to grow. This review of the year also caused me to see moments of great joy and celebration. I am celebrating my wins and embracing the changes I need to make. I am also overjoyed that I am still here because, as long as I’m alive, there is always hope that I will have more good days than bad, and that is a good thing.