Each year, as we come to the end of one and beginning of another, we can’t help but think about our next step. We have a new year ahead of us. We have left our mark over the past year. Now, it is time for decisions to be made. For me, I have looked back over the past year of my life, and I can definitely see that I am not the same person that walked in at the beginning of the year. A lot of difficult situations have presented challenges that I didn’t want to have to face. But, as usual, I looked at them, and took them on one by one. I made the best decisions that I could, with the knowledge that I had, and learned more each day as the situations unfolded. Truthfully, there were times of fear, frustration, inadequacy, and even loss of hope. Some days I woke up wondering why I did, because what was in front of me still seemed impossible, just as it did when my head hit the pillow. But, as I look upon those days now, I can see with each struggling day I made decisions for each moment, and have grown stronger because of them. I couldn’t see the difference then, but as I have been given distance from those days, I can see it now. Some of my challenges are still with me today, such as my medical condition, but my approach is different.
My medical condition presented itself, in the 2nd week of February. I have a diagnosis for most of it, severe head trauma and an irregular heart arrythmia. Treatment is still ongoing for both, and no prognosis has been given yet. So, I still have a lot of unknowns, but the choice is still mine on how I handle them. I am sure there will be days that I pray for it all to be over, like today. I know that at times I will feel all alone. But, as I have done over the past year, I have cried when I felt like it, and then stood up, made the best choice I could, and walked forward. I have accepted what has been mine, and left the rest where it belongs, in the past. I am glad that I can look back, and see a noticeable change in me, for good.
All of our lives are so unique. Each challenge has a lot of factors only we can navigate through. As we approach our life remember, that any choice made is going to bring about change, no matter how small. It may take us looking back a year to see how far we have come, or it may be a shorter amount of time. As we evaluate where we are, at the moment, remember to be kind to yourself, and own what choices are yours, then leave the rest in the past where it belongs. Do not go back and pick it up, and hold it as a regret. Leave it where it is, and say, I learned because of it, and it is not mine. Then show gratitude for all the progress you have made. Sometimes you may need a reminder to do this, like I do.
I hope as we approach this new year we will not have resolutions of grandeur, but one of being a better me tomorrow, than I was today. I have heard it said, “Be comfortable being uncomfortable, because that is when you are growing the most”. Don’t be afraid of your challenges. Take a deep breath, and then make the best choice you can. Your life is yours, and you are the one that has to feel comfortable in it, and make yourself proud of it.