2017 Is Here. Now What?

The calendars have been flipped and 2017 is upon us. A fresh start and we don't know if the car is going to crash over the cliff, handle all of the curves or keep on driving off into the sunset.

I'm full of worries for the world around me. Anyone with half of an open mind would realize there is a pot of turmoil and upheaval boiling on the stove and soon it is going to start making a mess.

The holidays were full of quiet time away from screens and memories being made with those I love.

There has been plenty of thought put into my 3 Words exercise and yet I haven't settled on the ones I want to commit to. I'm trying to not make them fight, truth and balance. Those are all going to play a big part, but they can't be the focus. Or should they? I'm still deciding.

The discussions happening behind the scenes give me hope. Catching up with friends via back channels rather than conversations in the open. Slowly seeing more people questioning decisions being made around them. Realizing that there is only so much one can prepare for when most of our reality is out of their control.

I find myself with a bit of a clean slate this year. Several relationships have gone away and while none of them held me back, they did dictate the paths I had to choose sometimes. The idea of open roads and shifting with the win excites me.

Someone asked me over break what my job description for 2017 might look like and as I pondered the question for a minute "Create and Inspire" is what I settled on.

Two words don't make a job description, but as I pull together my syllabus for the two classes I'm teaching at Bentley this spring and think about the projects I want to finish this year, they work.

Two speaking gigs I have in February certainly fit into the inspire category. Brand new talks on back-to-back days in two difference states. I can't wait.

Today new cameras will arrive for me to test out and I have a short film I'm  story boarding out with the plan of releasing it before spring.

2017 is going to be a rough year. So much turmoil and transition. Emotions are going to be on the razors edge at all times. People will click, scream and share without thinking. It is going to get worse before anything gets better.

That being said, I'm focusing on what I can control. What I can do. What I can make a difference with. So much that will happen in the days ahead I have zero control over and getting angry will do very little except make my life worse.

As angry as I might feel about something, does screaming into the Internet abyss help anyone? Does it do anything to curb my anger?

NO.

The rain is falling outside. None is hitting me because I'm inside of my house, typing away on my computer. I'm fortunate to be in this situation and will never take it for granted. So many people I know are hurting from a myriad of things and in the grand scheme of the universe I'm not. Every morning I wake up I try to remind myself of that.

I'm going to spend less time at this desk and more time moving, doing and helping.

The last book I was reading in 2016 was The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World and it is the first book I'm reading in 2017. It is full of nuggets that I know I'll be carrying with me over the coming months. Nuggets that I'll take out, ponder and breath with when I need them. I highly recommend the book.

I hope 2017 brings you what you seek. Be prepared to work for it. Don't expect anything to be given to you.

Always remember that you don't have to scream to make a difference.

Go get it.