2015: It’s Over

365 days ago, give or take a few days, pretty much everyone made “new year’s resolutions,” or whatever you want to call them.

Lose weight, read more, learn the piano, give more, worry less, get a promotion…

Today, it’s over.  The time has come where we can look back and think “uh yeah, that didn’t work out the way I planned!”

Oh well. There’s always 2016.

Whether you accomplished any of your goals or not, let me share something that I’ve learned over the years.  It’s not as much as what you’ve accomplished as it is how much you’ve grown and changed over the years.

Don’t get me wrong: accomplishments can be great.  But as I’ve continued to not hit my goals year after year, I’ve come to realize that more important than hitting them is how much I grow and change.  And perhaps more important, whether I’m enjoying life or not.

Almost ten years ago, when I created JibberJobber, I had some very lofty goals.  They were seemingly unreachable.  The truth is, I didn’t reach them. But looking back over the last ten years, I’ve grown. And, my family has grown.  I could have fixated on the goals, and beaten myself up for not having hit many of them, but that wouldn’t have stopped my kids from growing up. The oldest is old enough to move out of the house. What if I would have neglected personal growth, and my family, for the last ten years… her last ten years at home?  I would have missed it all.

My point is, goals are great. But instead of solely thinking about the end (or achieving the goals), make sure you focus on, enjoy, relish in, and are thankful for, the journey. I believe it’s how we navigate the journey that determines our success.  When you work on your 2016 resolutions, don’t forget to enjoy the journey, and appreciate the growth you get along the way.

With that, goodbye 2015, and Happy New Year!