It’s officially the 2nd week of December and within just 23 more days it will be a New Year. No amount of begging, pleading, wishing, hoping, marketing, sales or leadership can change the direction we are all headed. 2018 is ending and 2019 is on it’s way.
Some of the next 23 days will be filled with family fun…and maybe a little dreaded family drama. Some of those days will bring a moment of regret for hopes not realized this year or moments of hope for dreams of what’s to come in 2019.

It’s also that time of year for making lists, checking them twice and still forgetting some of the most important work of our lives. This is the part that always gets me. Worry about forgetting something or someone. Stress about whether I’ve done everything that needs to be done. Questioning and doubting if I’ve done enough to let the people in my life know just how much I care about them all year, not just at the holidays.
As I was thinking about all of this, I felt my heart beating a little faster and my body feeling a little warm, even though it’s cool. I felt anxiety creeping up on me – again. I suddenly felt the urge to jump up and do something…anything to calm my fear that I’m not doing enough, that I’m not enough.

Then I remembered something that helped me when I battled insomnia a few years ago. After I had tried all the typical things (a regular bedtime, quite, dark room, removing all the clutter from my bedroom – even the storage under the bed, no caffeine after 3 pm, light meal at dinner, not looking in a lighted screen like a computer, phone or television 30 minutes before bed), I was still tossing and turning instead of all the things that had gone wrong or could have gone better if only I’d….

Since I had that 30 minute window without electronic devices, I tried a few things. Meditation and reading didn’t quite work all the time. So I decided to write. I wrote down something or someone that impressed me that day. I ended up focusing on the things I was grateful for that day. It worked. It refocused my mind on the positive and that was calming enough to allow me to fall asleep.

So as I count down 2018, instead of stressing about all that could have been this year, each day I’ll focus on one thing that happened in 2018 that I am grateful for.

Follow my Grateful Today posts on my Facebook Page @DebbieDLive.

Today, I’m grateful for the people who create the fabulous technology that allows us to communicate so freely with each other.

Build the business and life you crave!
Debbie Donaldson