December’s end and the beginning of the New Year is traditionally the time we reflect back on what we’ve learned and achieved during the past year and imagine what we’d like to create in the new.

In the past, my habit has been to look back on the past year and think about what I didn’t achieve. I didn’t finish the novel. I didn’t redesign my website or start the podcast I have in mind. I didn’t lose weight or get buff. Other than making myself feel bad – which is both one of my toxic traits and one my best tricks – this isn’t a particularly productive habit.

That’s one reason I started my Sunday evening posts. Once a week I look back at what wasn’t terrible, whether that means a great book I read, a concert I attended, some good news, an accomplishment, or a pat on the back. This habit made me more conscious of what good happens in my life, even if things sometimes go awry or big projects remain incomplete. During the week, I look for good things to write about, rather than waste time kicking myself for what didn’t go well.

Reflecting on 2023, I’m pleased – and more than a little shocked – that I kept my commitment to this blog and wrote at least once every day. I didn’t always have time to post every morning, but I wrote every day. This was a commitment I made to myself this year, and I kept it even when I didn’t feel like writing or wasn’t inspired. If you bothered to look back, you could probably spot the struggle days, but short posts count, and keeping my promise to myself mattered. The emotional gift was much greater than the sum of the writing.

For the first time in a long while, I feel like I’m closing out the year with some tangible accomplishments, even if I didn’t grab everything I wanted. I’ve incorporated my writing and creative work into my daily habits and made them a priority, which they haven’t been for some years now. Looking forward, I know I can adjust and incorporate new goals for the coming year. I’ve learned to be happy with the creative journey, without obsessing over the final result I desire. The result is still important, but if I’m not happy along the way, what’s the point of the trip?

I plan to continue blogging every day in 2024, though I’ll switch up what I write about. This year, I relied on A Year of Living Consciously to prompt ideas about writing and general creativity. Now that I’m nearing Day 365, I don’t need that crutch. I’ll still blog about writing and creativity and may turn to the lessons in the book for some inspiration, but these past 12 months have helped me develop a focus for the blog and the confidence that I have something interesting to say once in a while. Now that I fulfilled my one-year commitment to blogging the daily exercises, I’m free to explore some other topics.

I’ll keep up the Sunday gratitudes because that’s healthy and my Tuesday horoscope because it’s fun, but in between look for some deeper dives into writing topics and book discussions.

Let’s see where this takes us.