Happy New Year….a little late!

Happy 2021!

I know many of us were looking forward to the clock striking midnight on December 31st.  If anything is certain, 2020 was definitely a year of challenges.  Life as we knew it changed – for me personally it was a family tragedy topped with a pandemic.

Last January, my beautiful, funny and loving niece decided that suicide was her best answer.  She left behind a loving husband and three young children.  I can’t even begin to put in to words what her death did to our family.  The whole in my heart is still there and I think of her almost daily.  Spending time with her children, who we affectionately call “the littles” has been a highlight – too bad it was caused by tragedy.

Then we hit a pandemic and worlds turned upside down.  I am considered an essential employee, along with my team so we worked daily.  Not only did we do our normal jobs, but also administered three elections.  The additional precautions taken, the added stress and the constant worry of “when” we will come down with COVID-19 instead of the “if” has taken a toll on all of us.  Through it all, I couldn’t be prouder of the team I work with and their dedication to doing their best and going above and beyond.

Which brings me to what I really want to talk about today.  Jon Gordon is a renowned motivational speaker and has written a book entitled “One Word That Will Change Your Life” and it has been my inspiration for my New Year’s Resolution.  I started in 2020 and my One Word was WHOLE.  It represented:  Well-being; Happy; Others; Life Balance; and Enjoy.  Boy did 2020 make WHOLE a challenge!  I will say this, while I struggled with growing my business during the pandemic, I didn’t look at 2020 as a total waste.  With the loss of my niece, it made me refocus my WHOLE on family and spending quality time with them and rebuilding strong family bonds.  That was the highlight of my year.  I realized that things and being on the constant go, socializing, having to be out of the house were not important.  The important things were strengthening the bonds of family and friends and finding happiness in being home and in my environment.  Sure I miss traveling and going out, but there is nothing better than being at home, sharing an evening with close friends and family.  In that sense, 2020 was a win for me.

As we roll out 2021, my One Word is RENEW.  It came to me late in December and just felt right.  2021 is the year to renew many things – goals, commitments, but most importantly renewing the belief and faith I have in myself.  I am excited about my word, excited to focus on renewing my commitments to others, to family, to work and to myself.  And as a constant reminder, I have a wood carving of RENEW for my desk and am toying with getting a workout shirt made with it as well!

So to all of you, Happy New Year and may you find your ONE WORD that will help drive you to excellence in 2021!