Here we are in the first full week of 2024 and I haven’t managed to change my calendar or take down the Christmas decorations at the office. I did take down the tree at home. Well, I hauled it upstairs to the attic, still decorated. A practice I picked up through osmosis from my grandpa, according to my uncle.
It’s likely some of your resolutions have already wilted. The bowl of taffy at the office on Jan. 1 overwhelmed my silly notion to cut back on my sugar consumption. Resolutions are overrated anyway.
But that doesn’t mean it’s time to throw in the towel on self-improvement. I heard a quote during an interview with singer-songwriter Jason Isbell that seems like a good way to approach this season of aiming higher for growth and progress: “Success just means your problems are different than they used to be.”
Are the problems — let’s call them “opportunities” — you’re facing in 2024 different than the ones you were facing this time last year? Those new opportunities might be better or worse, harder or easier, they might seem insurmountable right now. But are they at least a little different? If so, that’s a good indicator you’re making progress in this game of life.
Just keep swimming.
By NIKI TURNER | [email protected]