2017 has been a divisive year: everyone I know has either loved or hated it. I did not love it. It has had so many—maybe too many—growing pains. My personal career pursuits have become clearer, but for most of the year they've been unsteady. Following the news has been stressful. Watching people go at each other's throats, cut each other down, and advocate hate has been disheartening. But as I stood before my 2017 Gratitude Calendar this morning, coffee in-hand, head tilted to the side, reviewing every single day that this Earth tripped around the Sun, I saw something emerge beneath the overwhelm: love, focus, and hope. When I created this calendar at the tail-end of 2016, I'd never done anything like it before. I mean, I had accumulated positivity journals of all shapes and sizes, but found that within a couple of weeks they'd fall to the bottom of a shelf somewhere, where they'd collect far more dust than pen markings. One day, while cleaning that very dust off my shelves, I flipped through one of those books. I examined the empty pages. I wished that I had done better. I felt guilty. I was feeling all the things that book was trying to fight against. And so I thought, "If only these pages existed somewhere where I'd see it every day. If only they weren't so prone to getting buried beneath the ins-and-outs of clutter throughout the year." And just like that, the metaphorical lightbulb went off. I sat at my computer and drafted up a concept. And that's how the 2017 Gratitude Calendar came to be. I'm proud of myself for taking a chance on an idea and following through. The follow-through is always the hardest part. And I'm not just talking about the whole "I made a product" thing, I'm talking about actually walking the walk and COMPLETING the calendar for myself. I missed a few days here and there—which is natural—but on the whole I finished something that I started. And it feels really, really good.

2017 Gratitude Calendar Happiness Calendar

Some takeaways from my 2017:

(1) It's imperative to put the calendar where you'll see it daily.

I had my 2017 calendar hanging on the wall leading up to the kitchen. Because I'm a human person who likes to eat food, I go into my kitchen every day. Multiple times a day. I see that calendar EVERY SINGLE DAY, MANY TIMES. And still, I would accidentally skip days. I can't imagine hanging it somewhere I'd never see it. Keeping a pencil close by is important, too. This year I'll tie a pencil to a string and hang it from my calendar's frame.

(2) Skipping days is natural—and OKAY.

I got just as much out of reflecting on an entire week to fill out empty dates as I did when I took a few minutes to fill it out daily. After a vacation, or even a super busy week, I'd have stretches of days that weren't filled out. Instead of beating myself up, I'd take a few minutes to reflect on the week. I still gained something from this. Looking back and focusing on all the positive elements of a week gone by is just as powerful as doing it for a day. You realize how many wonderful moments were hidden in the woodwork—even if they were simple and small.

(3) Repeat posts are more than okay—they actually show you what's most important to you. And you can learn from that!

Early into last year I had a few friends who asked me, "Is it okay to feel grateful for the same thing again and again?" And the answer is, "Of course!" It's the simple act of gratitude that we're learning to harness here. Once you get that repetitive behavior down, you can pave the way for added creativity. I think people who are TRULY killing the 'creativity' game are those who have a really bad, shitty week and work to find the silver lining moments in the thick of it. Allowing yourself to focus on a flicker of joy in the midst of a lot of murkiness is a next-level skill set. We're all working toward that. That's true resilience. But in the meantime, don't judge yourself for repeating the same things all the time! Gratitude is gratitude. When I read my calendar back this morning, I saw a number of repeat items throughout the year. And you know what? It inspired me! I'm learning about where my core values lie. For me, "family" came up a lot: feeling like I'm getting quality time with the people (and pup) I love. I also noticed a through-line with career milestones. I get a LOT out of feeling recognized for my work. And that knowledge is going to fuel me in 2018!

(4) Sticking with it will INTENSIFY your next year so much.

I can't stress this enough. I didn't really have an intention for last year, which is totally cool: I was flying by the seat of my pants. But NOW I have this incredible insight about myself. And I can use that! Because I want to build MORE of what I love into this next year, I am approaching 2018 with intention. This year is all about career growth and deepening my personal relationships. I'm going to set goals and milestones that help me get there — and my gratitude calendar is going to help keep me in check. Last year I wrote a lot about how great it felt to write. So am I writing enough this year? Am I getting enough positive moments from my career? No? Then I'll have to work toward making more! See how valuable that can be?? It's like I get this opportunity to take what I've learned and use it as a road map for the future. That is invaluable to me.

(5) I'm going to work on using more specific phrasing this year.

One thing I noticed when I looked back on my calendar is that a year is a LONG time. January 2017 feels like ages ago. So the days when I used specific phrasing like, "painting on the patio with Jaren" brought back a clearer memory of the day than, "supportive friends" did. Next year I want to focus on key words that will help me recall the memory a full year later. I mean, listen: I know there's not a whole lot of space to write in each day, so don't stress about this. But if there's a way to specify exactly what about your experience sparked gratitude (like 'rare date night at Alibi' vs 'date night' OR 'vet visit + Ronin did so good!' vs. 'vet visit' OR 'learning to cook gnocchi' vs 'delicious dinner'), you'll thank yourself later. I guarantee it.

I am SO excited for 2018.

I'm spending my day writing out some intentions for the New Year—I like using the phrase "intention" vs "resolution" because I think there's more power inherent in 'intention' and far less pressure. I encourage you to create your own intention list. Fill yourself up from a place of power rather than a place of 'wanting to change what's bad.' Nothing about you is bad. Your intentions to strive for more of this or that can make you even more powerful than you already are, that is all. If you'd like to join me this year, I'm close to selling out my second run of Gratitude Calendars (might have to prep for a third!), and you can claim yours here. If you aren't sure that you want to commit, sign up for my newsletter below. I'll email you a free January print-outso you can track your gratitude in January and see how it feels. And I'll send you quick bites of motivation along the way. I'm wrapping this up envisioning all of your faces, your calendars on various walls around the country, and I am so full of gratitude already. I know I keep saying it, but I CANNOT WAIT for you to feel the effects of gratitude this year. Wishing you the best in all of your journeys!

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2017 in Review: A Little Reflection on my Gratitude Calendar