The End of the Year

At this time of the year most are looking forward to, and making resolutions for, the new year.  Resolutions are about malcontent.  Resolutions are about changing something we dislike about ourselves or what we do, into something more favorable.  Resolutions carry a fear of failure.

However, this is a good time to look over the past year and affirm the positive things that we have done or accomplished this year.  This is a good exercise for everyone.  This Christmas I suggested that my family all take a moment to write in a notebook or journal the things that happened in 2008 that was worth remembering.  I look forward to reading through these small things in years to come and remembering the little things I probably wouldn't otherwise recall.

Today, in honor of the year that is wrapping up, I'm making note of things that I would probably have ignored as part of my life, and not worth mentioning.

This time every year is all about taxes for me.  It takes me most of December and all of January to get my business documents completed for tax filing.  Every year I feel a huge sense of accomplishment and relief when I finally can turn everything over to my accountant to file.  The upside is that all my work is usually rewarded with a tax refund!  This year was no different.  The completion of all the documentation is always accompanied by a sense of relief and accomplishment.

One of the big things I accomplished this year was the writing of a business plan.  This was an endeavor that I honestly doubted I could accomplish, and although the business plan proved that my business idea wasn't something I could afford to pursue, it was still quite an accomplishment to complete.  The writing and the research for this one document took 3 months, and proved to me that I could do something distasteful (I'm not fond of research), and that I could overcome my fear of failure with persistence and hard work.

This fall I started a master's program at my local university.  It's a cohort program, which means I move through the entire program with the same set of students.  It offers an opportunity to build relationships that I never had an opportunity to do during my years as a night student earning my bachelor's degree.  In addition, I am proud of myself for starting something I've wanted to do since I completed my undergraduate degree.  Although this puts an added financial and time burden on my family, I'm so proud to finally be working towards this goal.

The accomplishment of which I am most proud this year, was something my husband and I did together.  In January of 2008 I heard about a program to pay down our mortgage.  It was an interesting plan, but we had a lot of work to do on our debt to get to a place where we could start.  With a commitment to budgeting, as well as following the guidelines of the plan, we have put a dent in our debt that we would not have been able to do had we continued as we were.  We have a long way to go to, and there is more we could do, but what we have done deserves mention.  Getting started, and sticking to the plan, was quite an accomplishment.

What have you done this year that you are proud of?  It doesn't have to be something big.  Maybe it was a small accomplishment that no one else noticed.  It's a worthy exercise to make note of these things.  With time, we tend to gloss over our accomplishments and focus on our failures.  Take a moment to think about your year.  I'd love to hear from you if you want to share!