What are you proud of?

So what are you up to this Christmas Eve morning? If you're like me, you're not even reading this because you are out shopping for Christmas presents. Yes, I waited until Christmas Eve to even start my shopping.

To all that know me, you'd probably be surprised by this. Usually my Christmas presents would have been bought and wrapped weeks ago, waiting under the tree with a hand-crafted bow. But not this year; this year I've fallen drastically behind. Oddly enough, this is not something I'm ashamed of, in fact, the exact opposite: I'm proud. I'm proud because me doing my shopping on December 24th is a result of other decisions I have made; decisions I'm proud of.

Sometimes the reason we fail at one thing is because we've prioritized something else - something really good. When that happens, don't let the small failure overshadow the thing you should be shouting from the rooftops. I didn't decide to procrastinate; I decided to prioritize other things.

If you're celebrating Christmas tomorrow, when you are gathered around the table or the fireplace, ask the people you are with this question…

Of all the things you did this year… what are you proud of?

It doesn’t have to be the thing you're most proud of, just start with anything. Nothing is too small - if it makes you smile, then say it. Tell each other about it. When you hear someone start to say something like but it's not a big deal… OR this probably sounds stupid, but.. OR well I succeeded in X but I failed at Y… make sure you tell them that it is a big deal and it's not stupid and forget about Y because you did X!

Encourage each other not to compare to what's on someone else's list, but to just be proud of what's on ours. As you all wrap up your year, don't focus on the things you struggled with but rather the things that made those struggles worth it.