It’s almost over. December is here already, and we’re about to start it all over again. For many, this is a difficult time of year. Seasonal depression creeps in for those of us in sun-deprived states. The cold bullies us into staying within the comfort of our homes here in Chicago. The holidays force us to reflect – on our relationships, our finances, and life in general. How was this year? Was it time well spent?

I’ve been thinking about the story of Sisyphus. For those unfamiliar with the story in Greek mythology, he was a tyrannical king who was punished for his hubris and trickery and sentenced for eternity to roll a boulder up a hill in the underworld only for it to roll back down when he got close to the top. Endless, futile labor.

I think that’s how a lot of people feel at the end of every year. We start off strong with bold resolutions in the beginning, aspiring to do more and become better versions of ourselves. But life happens. By December, many of us feel like failures. We must have done something, but it wasn’t everything we hoped for. Heck, maybe it wasn’t what we wanted at all?

From that perspective, the new year looks like just another hill. So we take a deep breath, put our hands on the boulder, plant our feet and try to summon the strength to push, knowing from experience that we’ll never make it to the top.

Is that really what happened though? Did we really not achieve anything? Did we truly arrive at the end of another year with nothing to show for it? I’m not so sure.

Step back from the boulder for a minute. Step even further back from the hill before you. What do you see? Sure, there are mistakes and maybe some failed attempts, but what else do you see?

Turn around. Look back where you came from. Were there any successes along the way? What did you do right? What have you learned? How have you grown?

Towards the end of the year, we tend to get caught up in the disappointment or the work that lies ahead, but in doing so we cut out all the successes in favor of the failures – a recipe for depression and anxiety. What if this year we didn’t do that?

This year, we focus on the successes and cut out the failures. No need to carry the extra baggage. This year, we get the opportunity to go up another hill knowing that the very fact we’re at the bottom means we bested the previous one.

Look around. How many hills have you already climbed?