My holiday wish for you

by Dan Oswald

As 2014 winds to an end, it’s good to reflect on all you have accomplished this past year. Think back across the last 12 months and consider all you have done both personally and professionally. Consider the goals you set for yourself that you have crossed off the list. Examine the work you have done and the contributions you have made to your organization’s success. Look at the impact you have had on the lives of others and how they are better off for it. Give yourself credit for what you have done—not what you have left undone.

All too often, when we look back, we consider what we didn’t do. We think about the goals on our list that we didn’t realize. We reflect on all the times we fell short and didn’t meet our own expectations. We look back on the last 12 months and worry about what we didn’t accomplish.

Give yourself some grace. That’s my holiday wish for you. Be proud of what you have contributed instead of having regrets. Look at the good you have done, not the bad. Think about all the positive things you have accomplished, not the places where you fell short.

We’re all human. No one is perfect. There will always be places where you could have done better. If you’re setting your goals high enough, there will always be some that are left unmet. Not everything in 2014 will have gone the way you had hoped. There are sure to be missed opportunities. As you reflect, you’ll find areas where you should have done more. But that will always be the case. Give yourself some grace.

If you choose to dwell on the negative instead of the positive (and it is a choice), then it will sap the energy and drive it out of you. How can you enter 2015 with passion and excitement if you’re caught up on everything you didn’t do in 2014? Give yourself some grace.

I realize we all must hold ourselves accountable for what we did and didn’t do; I’m just asking that you not get too caught up in the negative. I think too many of us dwell on the negative—what we didn’t do—instead of what we did. And that can be counterproductive.

So here’s my assignment for you should you be willing to accept it. Pull out a sheet of ruled paper right now. Fill that blank sheet of paper with all your accomplishments, big and small, in 2014. Don’t stop until you have filled the front side of the sheet. And then keep going. Fill the back, too. I want you to deal only with the credit side of the ledger. List only the positive achievements, the goals attained, the contributions made. I’m certain you’ll find that you did indeed accomplish a lot in 2014.

Save the “what ifs” and “could have beens” for another day. And then include them as part of your goals for 2015. But today, just focus on the wonderful things you did in 2014, and be proud of what you have achieved. That’s my holiday wish for you.

The Oswald Letter will be taking a break for the holidays. The blog will return January 12. Thank you all so much for your comments and support this year. It means a lot to me. See you again in 2015!