Daily Gratitude: This is the time of year when all you hear about is the new goals people have for the upcoming year. I get pretty annoyed with all that sometimes. I’m not a New Year’s resolution type of person. But I do believe in the value of reflection. That’s why i seem to beat it to death here.

It’s mostly because I don’t think you can really be successful in the future without knowing what went well and what didn’t in your past endeavors.

I also firmly believe in resets. You don’t even have to come up with something new. Just ask yourself if you’re happy with how things are now. If the answer is yes, follow it up with are you happy in all aspects of your life. Maybe a reset in one small area will jumpstart the rest of your life and create changes that you didn’t Even know you could use.

Resets often are small. They may require just changing one thing. I’ll give you a reset example – one that has nothing to do with grand goals but it was a perfect example that popped up as soon as I decided to do today’s lesson on resets.

I have two mattresses for my van. One is about 6-8 inches wider than the other. It’s Al’s the more comfortable one. Since this race is going to be 6 days I knew I needed to use the more comfortable mattress so switched them out yesterday

But as I continued to load gear into the van I knew it was too wide. It didn’t take me long before I decided to put the smaller one back in. I wasn’t upset or frustrated as I’ve been in the past. It was just going with what was better.

That acceptance was different for me and I welcomed it even though I was surprised.

As I was looking for something else in the house my eyes landed on my thick yoga mat. This was not a given as it was buried under a bunch of stuff. But there it is was calling to me.

I found my measuring tape and it’s the exact size of the smaller mattress so I ended up putting the yoga mat under the mattress. That should give me more cushioning.

So what happened here? During the whole process I used logical thinking unclouded by emotion. Each step was feelings free. I emphasize that because it’s so out of character for me.

As a result my thinking and therefore my mind was uncluttered and there was space for the universe to hand me a solution. In the past there would have been no space for this new idea to come in. Plus I was able to embrace this as a unique answer. It was no longer black and white – one mattress over the other. New ideas were able to bounce around in my head.

This reset is simply a reflection of the reset that has occurred in my mind over the past 6 months.

Let me leave you with two quotes. One is the one I led off with. Here they are

“You can’t start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading the last one.”

And the other is:

“Self-transformation commences with a period of self-questioning… growing personal awareness leads to transformation in how a person lives.” – Idowu Koyenikan

Daily Gratitude: Use this affirmation as we head toward the end of the year. Perhaps it’s time to redefine our love – what is is and what it’s not.

Love is not meant to have any strings attached. There should be no fear, no sense of obligation and love, of all things, should not be bound by survival. So many people are forced to love someone (can you really force yourself or someone else to love) in order to survive.

Use this affirmation to cleanse your heart….and maybe even your mind. Start fresh. Don’t force anything. Allow God or the universe to bless you with love.

After releasing this altered love, make it a point to live your life giving love. Everywhere you go you should look for an opportunity to give that love. It really is much better to give than to receive. The emotions generated when giving to others far outweigh those of getting a gift. It feels so much better!

Give love. That plus the cleansing actions of this affirmation will enrich your life in 2026 more than you can imagine.