The Future Begins Now

Each new year brings new hardships and new opportunities. I’ve recently heard many people express their relief that the recent year has ended. At first, I was inclined to join them. This was a difficult year for me in many ways and when I look back, the bad things are the things that tend to stand out.

But this past year was also a very good year for me in many ways. How often do our reflections take the good things into account? There were plenty of fun times with friends and family and professional and personal achievements this year. These things seem less distinct to me that the hard times. It seems like looking forward is always through a positive lens and looking back is through a negative lens.

Then again, don’t we grow and learn from hardships? Isn’t it the difficult times that build character and perseverance and motivate us to try harder next time? I don’t know many people who succeeded without failing first. It’s life’s hardships that give us the education and motivation to build success.

In this first week of the new year my perspective is this; yes this was a hard year, but I’m going to learn from each hard lesson and use them to fuel education and motivation for the coming year. We don’t know what the future has in store for us, but if we make a solid plan with realistic goals we are in a much better position to shape our future. We are always on the threshold of our own futures, but on New Year’s Eve, it is more obvious than ever that the future begins now!