2017 started out as a great year. Lots of promise and excitement ahead, as, let’s admit it now, each new year brings. 

 We wake up on each January 1 with a renewed purpose for our life, new energy, and a new determination to accomplish all that we didn’t accomplish in the previous year.

 As the saying goes, each new year brings 365 blank pages to write on. Make each of them special. And like almost every one of you, I was determined to do that! Ready to go! Ready to take on whatever came my way!

 And as fate…and life…would have it, in 2017 those promises and excitement were (sometimes too quickly) replaced with anxiety, setbacks, disappointments, and for many of us, even life changing events.

 In the blink of an eye circumstances changed. And many of us will never be the same again. Unexpected medical issues. Sudden deaths of friends or loved ones. Accidents. Tragic acts of terror resulting in deaths and physical conditions that will take the victims months or even years to recover from or adjust to. Worshippers and concert goers gunned down in senseless acts of violence. And let’s not forget divorce, job loss, and betrayal by friends or family.

 And that excitement and determination was lost; put away in a box on a dusty shelf to hopefully be pulled out again at another time and actually used. 

 Personally, the year was not nearly as bad for me as for others we know. Although I was involved in a serious accident which resulted in among other things, surgery for a broken right (of course I’m right handed) wrist, all things considered it could have been much worse. Even realizing now that I most likely had a mild case of PTSD as a result, I am putting that behind me as well and finally becoming more of my old self. And I realize how much I’ve missed that “me”!

 Many of you aren’t so fortunate and may still be struggling with things from last year. And you may be struggling for some time. But the important thing to remember is that the struggle will end. Yes, it will. It’s all a matter of how you deal with it. That’s not to say it’s not a struggle. I know that it is. But your perspective has to be positive. You have to make a conscious decision to change how you look at your circumstances…and how you deal with them. If you need help doing it, get it. There’s nothing wrong with that.

 It’s really easy to sit and feel sorry for yourself. And sometimes that’s the best thing to do. But only for awhile. Get it out of your system, because only then can you really begin to move on. 

 And unless you move on, you’re going to be stuck in a rut…in a bad place you don’t want to be in. And you’ll never be able to move on. You’ll never reach that point of healing. You’ll never feel like yourself again. And you’ll miss out on the life that was intended for you.

 That’s not what you want to do. Because there’s more to life.

 This is a new year. A new opportunity. A new chance to begin, or to pick up the pieces where you left them, and put them back together. They may not fit exactly like they used to, or like you might want them to,  but pick them up anyway. And make them fit together again.

 This is another new year of promise, of hope, of new adventures and new opportunities. There are 365 blank pages to write on. 

 What are you going to do with them?

 As for me, I’m starting to get back into my writing, which suffered severely after my accident. I just couldn’t seem to get motivated, because I didn’t think I had that gift anymore, and I didn’t think anyone would want to hear what I had to say. I lost my confidence as well as my motivation. 

 But I’m determined to get that back and keep it.

 What do you need to be determined about? 

 Perhaps it’s recovering from a devastating accident, far worse than mine. Perhaps it’s recovering from a total lifestyle change, like a job loss or divorce or death of a spouse or child. Perhaps you’re feeling like there’s no hope any more. And that’s just not true.

 You have an opportunity ahead of you to make this your best year yet. That’s not a cliché. This year is going to be what you make it. A blank slate ready to be written on; a new story to be written; a new life ready to be lived. An adventure ready to happen.

 It all has to begin with you. And your attitude and your outlook on life. What’s it going to be? More of the same? Or a new chapter? A new episode?

 It’s not just a resolution. It’s a life changing decision.

 And one only you can make. 

 Make it now. Before another day is over.

 What does the first page of your 2018 look like?