A Life Filled with Treasures
(The best new year's resolution)
The New Year is often a time for goal-setting.
Sometimes, this takes the form of a traditional resolution. Maybe this will finally be the year that you shed those pounds, learn that language, or land that job.
Sometimes, the goals come from regrets. We decide this is the year we’ll stop being hurt by other people, or the year that we’ll make up for the hurts we caused others.
But almost always, our goals involve change. We want more of something, less of something else. Vowing to change nothing seems like laziness, or perhaps apathy.
Certainly, any life has room to improve. And I encourage you to continue to grow and build a better life for yourself.
But please don’t forget the life that you’ve already built.
I’m sure it’s not a perfect life. But it has treasures.
Memories that you cherish
Hobbies that delight you
Ways that you contribute
Friends or family that you care for (and that care for you.)
These treasures still exist even if right now is a difficult time for you. Your life undoubtedly has bright spots - or it had bright spots in the past, and it will have them again in the future.1
So perhaps, for this new year, you can resolve not to change - not yet.
Instead of climbing a new mountain, enjoy the beautiful view that’s right in front of your eyes.
Instead of pushing yourself to make something, pause to feel something.
And instead of building a new life for yourself, make a home in the life you’ve already built.
A life filled with treasures.
If that feels impossible to believe, that might be because depression is skewing with your thinking. Just like you can’t see clearly if you look through a thick fog, you can’t think clearly when depression has a firm grip on you. Shoot me an email - I’ll help you find a good therapist in your area who can help.