At the end of 2011 I saw an idea on pinterest to write down good things that happen throughout the year and keep them in a jar. On New Years Eve, open the jar and read all of the lovely things that happened to you during the year. I decided to try it out last January, and I actually stuck with it through December!
I wrote down big things (adopting Hubble, passing 6,000 sales on etsy, my first airplane trip), little things (playing board games with my brother, holding Chloe for the first time) and nice things that people said to me. It was so nice to relive all those wonderful moments, and I really couldn't have picked a better year to try this out. Overall 2012 was clouded with family heartbreak and professional disappointments for me. I honestly wouldn't have looked back on 2012 with even the least bit of fondness if I hadn't kept track of all of the nice little things along the way and reminded myself of them on New Years Eve. I am definitely doing it again this year!
If you're thinking of trying this for 2013, I do have one suggestion. If something awesome already happened, write it down. But if something awesome is potentially going to happen - no matter how exciting that something seems -- don't write it down right away. There were quite a few things in 2012 that I got SUPER thrilled about (particularly Flapper Doodle opportunities) and they ended up being huge let-downs. If I had written them down and forgotten to take the paper out, I would have been reminded of my failures on New Years Eve. That wouldn't have been fun. So if someone emails you about an exciting collaboration or project, or if you get an interview for the job of your dreams, just hold off for a little bit before writing it down.
