Random Thoughts on 2013

Happy New Year! You know, the picture above may say it all. I've noticed a lot of folks, myself included, saying that they "hope" that you have a great year, and that 2013 be better than 2012, and it's a great sentiment. I really do hope that you have a great year, really, but you gotta do it. That's my new attitude! It's up to me! I'm tired of letting others determine my level of happiness. That's the big takeaway from 2012, and something that I'm proud to say that I'm doing better with than ever in my life.

I saw a segment on the "Today" show this morning where they had a panel of economic experts plus the mayor of San Antonio, TX. Now, they said the mayor was there for government's point of view, but is it a coincidence that he is that rising young political star? Anyway, that's not the point. The point is that they were VERY optimistic about the economic outlook going forward into 2013. Warren Buffet, a true expert and a guy known for speaking his mind, said that he was excited about how quickly things would improve. So we have that to look forward to.

I personally feel that I had a pretty good 2012. I expect to see that continue this year. DJ has finished his first semester at college with straight A's, and Ricky will graduate this year and has been accepted to Tennessee Tech. Monica is doing well at her middle school, and Joshua is Joshua, which is an achievement of its own. I'm getting more settled into my Scoutmaster role after some early jitters.

So where am I going with this? No where in particular, really. After all, I just changed the title of this post to "Random Thoughts on 2013", which says it all. I feel that it's important to mark milestones, which a new year always is. I'm not one, however, who spends a lot of time looking back. Once a particular situation or time period or whatever is over, it's over. A brief reflection to see what lessons need to be learned, then "OK, move along, nothing to see here."  

Other points of view. How do you look at it?

"Never be afraid to reinvent. A new year gives you permission to be whoever you want to be."
— Anne P (@petersonanne) January 2, 2013 (retweeted by a friend of mine)

Apps to Help Keep Your New Year's Resolutions bit.ly/Vy7Jkb
— NewsChannel 5 (@NC5) January 1, 2013

Happy New Year! See the spikes in Tweets per second as people celebrated around the world: blog.twitter.com/2013/01/celebr…
— Twitter (@twitter) January 2, 2013

(Twitter is full of these kinds of sentiments)

So, after reading this, take just a minute or two and revisit 2012. What lessons did you learn? How will you apply them in 2013 and beyond? 

or is this the way you look at the new year?