Welcome to 2017! Everyone seems to love a new year. There’s a sense of leaving old things that aren’t so great behind. And there’s hope and positive expectation for new and better things. It feels like we get a fresh start.
But I’ve also noticed that people tend to classify a whole year as bad when life throws some curve balls. They say, “It’s just been one of those years.” Perhaps it’s an illness or an accident, a job loss or other financial setback. Or maybe there’s the death of a loved one. People say those things happen in threes (whether they always come in threes or not, people will notice when they do).
We need to be careful to not classify a year as bad, though. With our natural tendency toward confirmation bias, we will see more of what we expect. And we won’t see all the positive things that are going on all around us.
To be realistic, we should probably expect that this year will have both good and bad. We can focus on the good–expect it, look for it, and be grateful for it. And we can put effort into bringing more of it, too, by setting goals and intentions and working toward them.
In fact, I heard a great question the other day: “Who do you want to be in 2017?” Who do you need to be to bring about the kind of year you want to have? What kind of character qualities do you need to develop in yourself?
Remember, you will get what you’re looking for. If you’re looking for a bad year, that’s what you’ll get. If you’re looking for a good year, that’s what you’ll get.
