Closing Out 2019 — Esther Santer

With 2020 around the corner, you can’t help but see everyone you know posting their 2019 recaps, sharing the best their year had to offer, win after win. I can’t say I haven’t posted my own recaps in the past because they’re incredibly fun to create and there’s no validation quite like posting your feats for your friends and followers to see, but after tapping through a few obnoxiously long highlight reels this week, I decided against adding my own to the mix. The recaps I saw had me adding about 10 new countries to my bucket list, they made me wonder why I didn’t get certain campaigns, they even motivated me to start working out, but they definitely didn’t make me feel good.

I’ve had plenty of my own work accomplishments this year and my husband and I went on two incredible vacations, but the second you start playing the comparison game, all of a sudden, even the greatest moments seem to lose their magic. Maybe someone else traveled to the same country, but stayed in a nicer hotel or maybe they went on three trips for every one you took. Whatever the reason, after polling my audience on Instagram, the majority of people viewed recaps negatively, and since YOU are the reason I post, I opted to skip the year in review and write a blog post instead.

2019 had some amazing moments, but it actually looked nothing like I had planned. I hoped to double my Instagram engagement...it halved instead. I hoped to double my income...it stayed stagnant. Even our vacation plans were derailed when our Japan trip turned into an Israel vacation to accommodate a family wedding. And don’t forget all the drama we went through when moving apartments, but even the unexpected move with all its frustrations wound up being an extremely positive transition.

Setting goals at the beginning of every year is important. It’s a great way to reset and figure out where you want to focus your energy. That said, it’s okay if life had other plans and you didn’t end up reaching every goal you set. Dreams are supposed to be big and who said January 1st has to be the cut off for achieving them? Life doesn’t stop on New Years. Look at 2019, whether it was everything you had hoped or the worst year of your life, and let it fuel you forward. Use the day to reassess, figure out your priorities, and make a new plan, but most of all, enjoy the fresh start. Cheers to a new decade!

xx Esther