Well, a lot has gone on in my life since I last posted over four years ago. I was in a very happy place back then. There have been upheavals career-wise, health issues, finding love and then seeing that love leave me. 2017 has been a particularly stressful and painful year.

For most of my life, I’ve found New Year’s Eve depressing. It was just a reminder of all that I didn’t accomplish and where I’d failed. Don’t get me wrong, I still feel that way as 2018 starts. The difference is that my desire to kick 2017 to the curb is stronger than my desire to dwell on it. Does that make sense?

I’ve been doing a writing exercise every morning and evening for the last five months as a way to center myself. I plan to have more information to share about this practice in 2018. Until then, here’s what I wrote on New Year’s Eve morning:

There are no accidents, just opportunities. This is an easy concept to buy into when things are going well or the “accident” isn’t something sad or difficult or otherwise awful. In these cases, believing that what’s happening isn’t some accident or cruel twist of fate is harder to take. But really, everything that happens to you provides an opportunity to choose how to respond. If you see an event as yet another example of how you always get screwed, you deny yourself an opportunity to re-frame the situation and grow. If you do see something that happens as an opportunity to learn, or grow, or change, your experience of the situation changes and in turn, your experience of yourself and your life changes.

So, instead of adopting a knee-jerk, negative reaction to what you perceive as a challenge, change your perspective and view the situation as an opportunity.

I’ve never been a “glass half full” type ‘o gal. I’m more of the “that glass never had any water in it and the glass is cracked and chipped” type. As you can imagine, making a conscious effort to see life’s challenges as opportunities and not a sign of Biblical-scale plagues on the horizon is a big ask. I know it won’t be easy, but being fearful, angry and negative hasn’t made life better, so what do I have to lose?

So, adios 2017, you will not be missed. Hello, 2018. I’m ready for you.