The funny thing about life is that there is no manual to help figure it all out.
There is no instruction guide that comes with your birth or annual checklist to tell you what comes next.
We are all just left to figure it out as we go.
Step by step, breath by breath, highs, lows, twists, turns.
We’re buckled in for the ride until it comes to a complete stop.
If our lives were books, no two people could write the same chapters because for every human, there would be a different story.
Different words, different insights, different plots.
We can’t glance ahead to the final chapter to see how it all unfolds and I find that exciting and terrifying all at once.
I have absolutely no idea what comes next in my book and as much as that ignites my soul and makes me excited to welcome a new day and the opportunities that come with it, it also rattles me because I’m not good with surprises.
I, myself love a good list. I love crossing things off, having a plan and knowing where I’m going.
So, this thing called life can be hard because there is no way to navigate it or plan your route.
We go until we stop.
We plan for retirement but for some life gets cut short.
We plan for vacations, but Mother Nature intervenes.
We plan for a future, but our health has other plans.
But we continue to plan, plan, plan because I think that feeling like we have a plan settles us a bit.
It gives us direction.
Plans provide purpose. They give us checkpoints and goals and make this crazy thing called life seem somewhat more manageable.
We try to plan for what comes next because then we feel more in control, but the truth is, there is so much we can’t control.
We all do life differently and life, hits us all differently too.
We value different things, set different priorities, stumble and fall at different times and set different destinations.
Some of us are here for a long time and some, just a quick trip.
Some of us bounce back quickly when life gets heavy and hard and others take their time getting back up again.
We do the best we can with what we can because quite frankly it’s all we’ve got.
Many of us turn to our role models, leaders and teachers, hoping they can guide us and tell us what to do, but the sad truth is that what works for one doesn’t always work for another.
We all do life differently.
So as another year comes to a close, I always use this time to self-reflect and look back.
I know some say not to look back, to forge ahead, leave the past in the past and start each day anew.
I get that, but I look back… often.
There is an expression you might have heard.
“There’s a reason the windshield is so much bigger than the rear-view mirror. Where you’re headed is so much more important than what you’ve left behind.”
And yes, that’s truth. I get that statement. I like that statement, but I also like to look back because when I do I find it so rewarding to see how far I’ve come.
For if we always climbed that mountain, not looking back, think of the view we’d be missing.
The climb is life. Hit with challenges and stumbles, but we push on because we know that when we do get to the top, the view will be worth it.
Sure, it would be easy to simply descend the mountain when things got tough, but we’d miss the lessons in the journey. The grit and perseverance that make us get back up every time and keep going.
The parts that make us who we are.
Those are the good bits.
Scars are simply reminders that we beat what tried to hurt us.
The view from the top of the mountain is our chance to look back and see how far we’ve come.
For me… that’s important.
When I look back at how far I’ve come I’m filled with amazement.
Broken hearts, new jobs, the loss of loved ones, struggles with relationships, health scares and now even a global pandemic… we’ve all been through a lot and yet when we stop and look back, we don’t give ourselves enough credit.
We should.
We shouldn’t always set new intentions and goals and focus on what comes next.
We should take time to pause and reflect on how much we have done. How far we’ve come.
Life isn’t always a rush.
“It’s a dance,” a famous country singer says. So take time to linger in it.
This year I wanted to have a vision board party. Don’t laugh, I see value in that.
There are so many people that I follow who make a vision board of what they want their year ahead to look like. They clip out photos and words and hang them in a prominent place hoping that by casting these thoughts out to the universe daily, it will bring their vision to fruition.
There’s value there.
It’s always great to have a plan.
To set goals for yourself and push yourself to achieve them.
To grow.
But then life hits you with that unexpected sucker punch and you feel defeated that your vision board never came to life.
So, to that I say, don’t be afraid to scroll back and look thorough your life.
Don’t always just look ahead.
Don’t rush. Reflect.
Don’t try and bottle up all the bad bits and leave them in a box never to be opened.
Look back often and reflect on all that you’ve done.
Each year is a reward in itself. A sense of accomplishment that you get another go around on this thing called life.
Reward yourself for the journey.
Our opening sentence, which is our birth, and our closing chapter, which is our death, are the only two commonalities we all share.
The middle bits are ours alone.
So look back and use them as motivation to prove to yourself how valiant you are in this battle.
It’s life. It’s a journey.
I’m going to close out my year scrolling back on all the lessons I’ve been taught, the obstacles I’ve overcome and the memories I’ve made.
The only intention and resolution I’m going to set is to try and be present in every moment cause as cliché as it sounds the present is a gift.
It’s all we’ve got that’s for sure.
We don’t know when the ride will stop.
I will close out my year with a pat on the back and a toast to myself. I’m doing it.
The view is amazing cause it’s mine. Only mine.
Look back with me…
We’ve Got This!
@half_full_most_days