As you close out 2021, here are my suggestions:

Enjoy the present moment. As I walked into my kitchen this morning, I had a surprise. Even though my window faces the west the pink shades of the morning sunrise were shining through the leafless trees. While two squirrels jumped from limb to limb, I paused my morning routine to soak up the beauty of the moment. 

In these precious days before Christmas, there will be many moments you will want to savor. Doing so quiets the frenetic pace of life and quiets your mind. Quieting the mind helps you process and close out today’s tasks, leaving room for new thoughts.

Contemplate where you are and what you would like to achieve in the New Year. Can you visualize being in a valley and wanting to climb to the top of the mountain in the distance? The journey begins with the first step up the first plateau. Hikers should stop at the first plateau, rest, and enjoy the scenery. Then turn their gaze to the next challenge, the looming rim ahead.

Similarly, now at the end of 2021, you can stop, evaluate, and let go of the rollercoaster ride of Covid-19, enjoy the season, and think about who you are now and how you are different than you were a year ago.

Difficulties bring opportunities for growth and no doubt in 2021 you grew in amazing ways. What growth lies ahead for you in 2022? What are the possibilities for becoming a new, better person? Only you can decide your future. Just as the sky turned from pinks to blues out my kitchen window, how can you change your world in 2022?

Which door will you open? Every individual is on his/her own path to success. Which door will you knock on? What talents do you want to improve? What business skills do you want to expand? What relationships do you want to build?

Make a list, then start deciding how you will get the door to open. Open the first door and you will see other doors to choose from. Keep opening, or as famous motivational speaker Les Brown said in speech I listened to years ago, “If there isn’t a door, cut one out!”