Reflecting on 2013

I welcomed the New Year with my wife.  We spent a lot of the night talking and laughing which is pretty much what we do anyhow.  We only briefly discussed the year of 2013 and concluded that it was a pretty good year.

I woke up this morning and looked at some of the social media sites and I saw a lot of people I know that apparently had a bad 2013.  I understand having a bad day now and then, but a whole year?  Man, I guess that is what drives a lot of people to drink on New Years Eve, eh?

Anyhow, I used to have "bad years".  I learned that that was mostly my fault.  Something unfavorable would happen and I would dwell upon it for days, sometimes even weeks.  These were things that I mostly had no control over but accepted them as personal attacks on me....  I don't understand it, but that is how things used to work for me.

Now, I look back at those bad days, weeks or years and realize that nothing was really as bad as I thought it was.  Its a matter of perception.  I had to learn to "remove myself" from situations that had really nothing to do with me.  I had to learn that I could choose how I acted or reacted in situations like this.  It took a while, but I figured it out.

I had a couple of friends die in 2013.  If they were to come to me right now and say they had a shitty year, I'd buy that all day long and twice on Sunday.  They died for hell's sake!  It doesn't get any worse than that!  In comparison to that, my 2013 was fucking brilliant!  I had a couple of rough days.  I had a few days where some things didn't work out the way they should have.  But to give each one of those "bad days" the power to label a whole year as shitty is crazy. 

I'm alive!  I've got my family, friends, a good job, a roof over my head.  Nothing wrong with any of that.  I walk away from 2013 a better man.  I learned a lot about myself and am a stronger and better man for it.  I welcome 2014 with open arms.  I'm alive man, and I am going to live the shit out of this year!  I am going to learn more, do more, love more.  I'm going to listen better, try harder, and help out more often.  I'm going to do new things, do more of my favorite things and have more life experiences.  I am also going to expect less.  I understand that I control most of what happens in my life and I know I am strong and smart enough to work around or through the things that I have no control over.  You can have that too and I'd be more than happy to help you find the way.

I wish all of you a Happy 2014!  Do everybody right and you'll be done right in return.  Take shit a lot less serious.  Relax and live a little.  Notice something new every day.