Whether it’s the songs you listened to most on Spotify or the most popular TV shows, the best of 2021 season is officially in full swing. One ‘best of’ selection that I’m a big fan of personally is Cambridge Dictionary’s winner for word of the year, which is:

Perseverance

(Honorable mention goes to Merriman Webster, which chose “vaccine.”)

Cambridge Dictionary defines perseverance as “continued effort to do or achieve something, even when this is difficult or takes a long time.”

The word ‘perseverance’ does a good job of capturing what was required from all of us this year. And yet, when you take a moment and really think about it, perseverance is what is always required of us.

Think about something that’s happened to you recently that left you feeling mad and upset. 

Maybe a friend or family member let you down or did something crappy. Or maybe a financial decision you made didn’t pan out like you had hoped it would. 

Now ask yourself:

What are my options?

You might be mad, upset, or bitter about that person/situation right now, but for how long and to what end? And how is choosing to remain in this negative state of mind impacting the rest of your life and the people around you? 

When confronted with the choice of staying mad or letting go and moving forward, it starts to become clear that perseverance is always required if we want to move forward.

So this holiday season, try doing a quick self-assessment by asking yourself these questions:

Am I holding onto negative thoughts about anyone in my life right now?

Are there any situations from this past year that I’m still really upset about?

And how are these negative thoughts and situations holding me back?

Even if the people and situations causing these negative thoughts were at fault, remind yourself that this exercise isn’t about them. It’s about you and your ability to move forward. 

When we remove blame, it’s easier to let go of our negativity. And when we let go of our negativity, we make our lives better for ourselves and the people around us. And when that’s our main objective, perseverance is always the only real way to move forward.

Thank you for taking the time to listen to and/or read these updates this year. As you’ve probably figured out by now, these updates are mostly reminders to myself, but I hope you continue to find them helpful in your life as well.

I hope you have a wonderful holiday season and that you’re able to spend it together with the family and friends you care about most.

Happy holidays from my family to yours!