"Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards."
- Soren Kierkegaard
The current year is quickly coming to a close. From a very macro level, this past year has been somewhat of an upgrade from our previous one at least on the pandemic front. While Covid-19 continues to be the root of disruption in the global economy and everyday lifestyles, it does not have the hold on our communities that it did in 2020. It at times feels like we will never get away from this virus all together, but victories are definitely worth noting. Despite issues within supply chains, the U.S. GDP has increased this year signaling the continual rebound of the U.S. economy. While schools and other public institutions have had to modify their operations, we have not seen the widespread shutdowns and closings that we saw at many points in 2020, specifically March 2020 and towards the end of the calendar year.
Moving away from the macro scale, it is important at the end of an old year and the start of a new to reflect in a more micro sense on your own personal victories and progresses. I am not at all saying that you should be stuck living in the past, dwelling on missed opportunities and mistakes or reveling in expired successes. However, within the present moments we often do not realize their weight and are unable to acknowledge the accomplishments that they are. Now is the time to do so. You might be surprised with what you have achieved. As is the old adage, hindsight is 20/20, so you might be able to understand now how different events in the past year positively and negatively affected you. This reflection is done from a personal and professional level. I have a variety of things that I need to be thankful for over the past year that I have not given enough credence to. As a team at Provisio, while we are focusing also on our goals for next year, it is important to us to look at what we have done this year. This is not so that we can rest on our laurels and get complacent, but so that we have the ability to look at our body of work and be happy with the things we did accomplish.
In our industry, the gravity of continually planning for the future is very great. We do everything that we do with an eye looking forward. Our job is to help people answer the question, “Am I all set?” We work with some people who are closer to that answer than others, but that future is where our focus is held. Notwithstanding, we always want to make sure our clients take into account the good habits and the steps they have taken to get where they are. We often have people come in who do not think they have enough money for where they are in their life, and most of those times they are not correct. The anxiety that planning for the future induces often forces remembrance of past accomplishments out of our brains or causes us to feel insecure about the future. Take a step back and genuinely assess the past year. It is OK to pat yourself on the back for the things you did right this year. Don’t just look at the bad things, and the areas that require resolutions. While you look at those successes, analyze why they happened. What processes did you use to achieve those goals, and how did you stray from those processes when you failed. From a personal standpoint, I am a man of faith, so I live according to how I am instructed by the Word of God. I will be evaluating my year in light of my faith and how I can grow in acting on that faith in the New Year. While I cannot speak completely for the rest of our team at Provisio, I know this sentiment is held by them as well. I am by no means an expert in psychology and the science of self-reflection, but these are some of the things I will be doing as the year ends.
One other thing I will be doing to ring in the New Year will be watching my Michigan Wolverines (hopefully) beat the Georgia Bulldogs this Friday in the College Football Playoff Semifinals. My team pride is flowing and this week’s song definitely reflects that.