For many years, when the calendar rolled along to December I wrote my annual holiday letter to place in Christmas cards. It was a way of letting those close to me, yet far away, know what had happened in my life the previous year. The year I divorced, I stopped. I let people know what happened and have not penned a letter since. Why? Good question. I didn’t even realize it until I purchased the cards to send this year. At the time, I am sure I thought I had nothing good to share. In hindsight, the year I divorced was one of the most profitable in my business. I both traveled to Japan for a friend’s wedding and to Kenya for a three week safari. We opened a stand alone office for our real estate team in a trendy neighborhood. In many ways it was a great year. Yet my context for that year was I had failed. Failed at one of the biggest endeavors of my life. I was unable to see what was good.
This is my challenge to you. Go back through 2011, month by month, and write down what went right. It doesn’t have to be huge. It could be you took your niece or nephew to the zoo and spent an entire day playing with them. It could be you bought the ingredients and made Thai basil rolls better than your favorite restaurant. It could be that you still have an active real estate license! I have had more than one agent share with me the struggle of 2011. I get it. Yet, you are still here.
No need to share this in a holiday card, unless you want to. This is your gift to yourself. Have some compassion for your year. If some nasty junk comes up, just push it to the side. We will deal with putting that in the past next week. Now it is just goodness and love. What did you like about 2011? What went well? What was great?
I’d love to hear what you discovered! Remember, it’s your business, it’s your life. You get to choose how it goes! (And the story you tell about it!)
