Three Life-Changing Gifts for Your New Year

Start the year with three powerful tools for a prosperous 2025

After returning with my family from a holiday trip to see my sister and her family in Philadelphia and spending a day in New York City, I woke up Saturday morning not feeling well. Coughing, achy, runny nose, low energy, and a fever that was as high as 102.6, which would go up and then come back down.

I’ve hardly left my bedroom and haven’t stepped outside since Saturday morning. As my energy slowly returns, I’m getting a little antsy. I want to give my body the rest it needs to recover and I want to avoid spreading the illness. Both my wife and daughter have since come down with similar symptoms. Not fun.

This isn’t how I wanted to end the year, nor how I want to start the New Year.

I am, however, finding gifts in my situation. Besides spending more time with my wife, and whittling down my list of Netflix shows, the three gifts I’m taking from this situation are:

• Surrender to what is

• Accept things as they are

• Remember the bigger story

Surrender

Waking up sick is never fun. With the end of the year approaching, then passing, part of me really wants things to be different. Finish some projects. Write this article. Reach my reading challenge of 65 books for the year. Make some money.

I’m keeping in mind the Buddhist principle of the second arrow in this situation. The first arrow is the pain we can’t avoid—like getting sick or facing unexpected challenges. The second arrow, however, is optional. It’s the additional suffering we create through our reactions: resisting what’s happening, judging ourselves, or wishing things were different.

Being sick is tough enough as it is. I don’t need to make it worse by beating myself up about being sick and missing opportunities.

Acceptance

In the absence of self-flaggelation, I’m finding that my central tenet to “Remember your extraordinary value” is helping me realize that even if things aren’t turning out quite as I like that it is enough. There is still value here.

In this moment, my primary responsibility, and about all that I’ve been able to manage, is to rest and recover.

Even as I’ve been sick, there have been times when my fever has dropped, and I felt better more energy – but forgetting my limitations quickly taught me better.

It helped to watch Ram Dass: Going Home which shows how, after his stroke, his focus shifted from giving help to receiving it.

In accepting his state he was able to bring a beautiful conclusion to his life.Similarly, I’m finding there is a nice conclusion to the year in simply accepting the year as it has been with all its joys, challenges, and surprises.

Through acceptance, I’ve realized there’s value in simply being, even when I’m not accomplishing much.

Bigger Story

This time of stillness also reminds me that every challenge is just one scene in a much larger story. Our lives are not defined by single moments but by how we weave them into a greater narrative.

Every story, and every season, has its ups and downs. It’s in these down moments that we find the greatest opportunities to reflect, recalibrate, and reconnect. By surrendering to what is, accepting things as they are, and remembering that this moment is part of a larger journey, we create space for greater prosperity ahead.

Wishing you a prosperous 2025!

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