Heading into the New Year can be daunting. During a spat with my husband (who is going through some tough stuff already), I realized what a privilege it is to “start new.”
To “begin again.”
To grab a new perspective and keep on, keepin’ on.
I hope this letter encourages you too 🙂
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Dearest Adam,
You’ve often said that it was something you did wrong that gets you down. But what have you done “wrong”? Think about it. “Not yet” making the barley soup isn’t “wrong.” It was just delayed. No harm, no foul.
And you know I call you out on what you do right. Multiple times already I’ve told you that you are a hard worker. The money you bring in helps. I even called it “relief” the other day.
So that “I did something wrong” doesn’t jive.
So, from now on both of our mantras should be: “I did the best I could.” Whether it was a mistake or not, whether something was left off or not, we did what we did. Like Tom Cruise’s character says to Demi Moore in A Few Good Men. “She made a mistake. Let’s not relive it.”
Let’s not relive this.
Instead, let’s look forward.
Yesterday was rotten. You didn’t make the barley soup right away … but you did, and then it was delicious. I really, really liked it. And now it’s practically eaten up when a day ago it was getting old.
Use the rearview mirror to see what’s behind you — but your focus has to be on the windshield, where you are headed.
Another analogy…
The seeds you plant today become the garden you harvest next month. It doesn’t seem like a big deal to read the Bible for an hour a day, or to tweak your resume, or to watch our sugar intake, or to keep the linen closet tidy … but little things always add up.
Tonight I’ll ask you what you see in your future for next year (December 2026, mid-way through next year’s school year). What your role will be (professionally). Where your finances will be. The projects you would have accomplished by then and the people you would have impacted.
Starting from now on, let’s look forward. With gratitude. With hope.
The fun part about is, no matter what the answers are, you’ll have a clear end zone in mind that you are heading toward. If the end zone changes in July (say, you were aiming to be a roofer and you found that you really enjoyed bricklaying instead), you’ll have still crossed the entire football field — and you’ll have developed amazing character traits along the way. Grit. Stamina. Guts. Maybe even a few tricks to pass on to others when the going gets tough.
We’ll work through tweaking your resume as the article suggests. I like the part about skillsets you use now, rather than only jobs accomplished in the past.
I hope this email finds you well.
Always your biggest fan,
Cheryl
PS: Did you know barley is “barely” with the e-l reversed? I nearly sent out this email with “barely soup”!
PSS: I’d very much enjoy writing your motivational books in 2026. Reply back and I’ll give you my fee list 😉
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Did anything I wrote to my husband apply to you? I’m not surprised! We can ALL be in the business of self-improvement — and encouragement from others.
So, tell me…
Your turn: What is YOUR end zone for 2026?
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