As we wind down 2017 and get ready to ring in the new year, we start to reflect on the year.

I have noticed more people reflect back and only see the negative. I see posts about how 2017 was the worst year ever for them. I see very few posts about how blessed people are for 2017.

Recently, I had a friend of mine texted me, "Tough year. Right to the end." This was right after something had happened. Nothing catestrophopic, just a slight hiccup.

My response to them was, "Every year has its fair share of ups and downs. Just matters which you choose to focus on." I then proceeded to say:

...Everyone could look back on a year and find all of the bad things that happened. You could make a list, but that doesn't mean you should. People will say 'wow (insert year here) was terrible.' ...[That's] because they choose to look at only the bad stuff and ignore the good.

I find that people put more emphasis on the bad things rather than the good things. That could bring even the most happiest of people down. Most of the "bad" things people focus on when they look back on the year are just small hiccups and they use that to overshadow anything good that had happened.

There is a quote that I find fitting in this situation from one of my favorite T.V. shows Doctor Who.  The episode is titled "Vincent and The Doctor", Vincent being Vincent Van Gogh.

The character The Doctor says in the episode, "...The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things...The good things don't always soften the bad things, but vice-versa, the bad things don't necessarily spoil the good things and make them unimportant."

I think these are very valuable words to live by. Just because your year, or life, has had some bad things along the way doesn't mean the good things shouldn't be looked at as just as or more important.

I've noticed that people who put great weight on negative things usually have more negative things happen to them. People who look at the negative things, move past it, and focus on the positive things tend to have more positive things happen to them. Now of course, I am not saying if you only have happy thoughts you'll fly to Neverland like Peter Pan, but it does make a great difference on your life.

So when you look back on 2017, don't put your focus on the things that did not go quite right. Instead, focus on all of the good things that happened in 2017 and look forward to all of the good things that will happen in 2018.

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