Grateful Attitude- 2018 – Lauren Branch
Every year seems to go by just a little bit faster than the year before, and for me, this past year was no exception. Days quickly turned into weeks, and weeks morphed into months. Before I knew it, I was looking at 2017 in my rear-view mirror and preparing to jump into 2018.
The beginning of the New Year is seen as a transition for many of us. It’s a time to step back from our lives to reconsider where we’ve been and where we want to go. I plan on looking at 2018 as a chance to learn and better myself with a grateful attitude.
I’ve never been big on New Year’s resolutions, but I do think that January is a great time to set goals and decide what we want to accomplish in the upcoming year. But in moving from one year to the next, I suggest that we all pause. Pause to celebrate. Pause to take inventory. And pause to see what we can learn from this past year.
As we embark on 2018, it’s a great time to reflect on our successes, and, dare I say, our failures – or, at the very least, challenges that we’ve experienced in 2017. I, like many of you, have experienced plenty of challenges this past year, like the devastating flood of the NewView headquarters in April. But, through that challenge, and others, I continued to learn and grow. Sometimes it’s hard to remember that our biggest challenges, as painful as they are, can also be our biggest opportunities for growth.
Looking forward, I think a successful year for me would be to cultivate friendships, spend quality time with my family and make meaningful change in my community, all while being the best leader I can be. I realize that each of these goals have multiple levels, taking time, effort and dedication. But, I’m committed to making them a priority, as they are all worthy of my time and effort. I simply have to be mindful of the people in my life, realizing that everything I do and every action I take impacts either my friends, my family or my employees.
I trust that this past year was a great year for you and the coming year will be even greater. I’m thankful for the people I have met this past year, for the opportunities that I have been given.
I’m going to leave you with a quote from Charles Dickens. “Reflect upon your present blessings — of which every man has many — not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.”