Hope you can make best of new year

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for December 28, 2022)

As seems to happen more and more frequently, the curtain is dropping on yet another year. Rather than looking back at the year as it winds down, I want to look ahead without trying to predict anything.

I don't know if the past year was a good one for you, but I hope it was. Either way, you've about made it through. This is no finish line; only a checkpoint. The good news is, you're still here and you're still going forward.

If you want this next year to be an even better year, you've got to make it better yourself. Don't ask politicians to do it for you. Life is homemade.

Your own choices always make a big difference in how your life goes. Even when things happen outside your control, how you respond is up to you. It will make all the difference in how you feel about life. If you respond like someone who has some power over your life you'll do better than someone who sees themself as a powerless victim of circumstances.

Just recognizing that you are in control of your responses gives you some power over your circumstances. Seeing yourself as a pawn isn't a good feeling. What will a pawn do to make his life better? Waiting for someone else to rescue you will usually end in disappointment, and may mean you've waited too late to help yourself as the problem grows bigger.

Which do you think would be better: a world where everyone is waiting for someone else to rescue them, or a world where everyone does what they can to solve their own problems? Which world has more people able to help others?

If a dragon approaches and corners you, you can cry for help, or you can pull your sword and stand your ground. I know which one feels healthier. It's OK to ask for help, too. Maybe someone else will show up to stand beside you, but pull your sword first, then yell. Make this the year you refuse to be an easy snack.

I don't know what the next year holds, but whether the circumstances are good or bad, make sure you do what you can to make it the best it can be, whatever comes at you. At the very least, don't do things to make life worse. I hope you're able to face down the dragons, too.

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