The end of
the year seems to spark a “List of My Flaws” review session, which then prompts
a 20-page list of “Things I Need to Do to Be a Better Person”! I have listened to and read how people are
focusing on a laundry list of every flaw they have; every imperfection; every
stupid decision they’ve made. I’m not saying we should live haphazardly and
ignore doing things that will give us more patience, more wisdom, and/or more
courage. What I am saying is that we
don’t need to carry our flaws on our shoulders. We certainly don’t need to
carry them to our New Year’s Eve parties either! Buzz kill!
Every
day we have life, we are reminded of our flaws. It’s one thing to be honest
with ourselves about what areas we can improve on, make daily steps toward
improvement, own our progress, and move on. But, it’s another thing to own our
flaws, and instead of recognizing our steps to improve ourselves, we turn our
flaws into a depressing song that we replay in our heads; either because our
new and improved selves didn’t fully manifest within a certain time frame or
because we think if we pay too much attention to our “non-flaws” then, somehow,
we aren’t becoming better people.
One
year I had a friend send a holiday postcard to her family and friends. On the
front of the card was her picture and the on the back, she listed her
accomplishments and changes she made for that year. Now that’s how you do a
year-end review of yourself!
Review every good decision you made. Review
your progress. Don’t negate that progress by saying, “I did this/that well, but
I almost messed up and I still need to work on…”NO! Don’t do it. Don’t be a
damned Debbie Downer on yourself! Move on to the next fabulous thing about you.
2017..In all
of our gloriousness, we are coming for you!
