I’m smiling because this weekend gave me an epiphany. I love epiphanies…

As the year comes to a close (can you believe it’s almost 2011 already — in case you missed the memo), there’s a great deal of things I want to plan like: resolutions, travel, etc… I’m quite tempted — really. However, why bother? I’m having a good time and I have nothing to complain about. Last year, at around this time I had already started making decisions of what I wanted to do this year (because I’m an early planner).

Sure, I could run more often to lose abit of weight but why can’t I just start running now?

I’d done exactly what I wanted to do this year. I made myself happy (I’m still absolutely convinced that it’s a state of mind). I took a leap, I took risks, I touched people’s lives, I made new friends. I feel great. I even almost believe in love (I’m in denial).

The point is, I’ve grown.

When I wrote the Attaining Happiness post a few months ago (that was just in September), I still went back to it to use it as grounds to make many of my decisions in the following days, weeks and months.

I realized that a great deal of life isn’t guaranteed. It’s quite possible to never find that “one” or that job or ever reach a goal you really want. However, I believe that the path you take along the way makes everything worth it. Believe me, I have had my share of disappointment over this year. Things got seriously bad that much of my life had to change because of it (I still can’t post about many of these situations). However, I can still reach the conclusion that I really have nothing to complain about. I used what I applied to getting over a bad breakup to getting over a job loss or broken friendships and continued to work on other things.

Perseverance does make situations worth it. Without goals, you might as well stop living. As my life changes or have changed, I see my values changing. I seek to help others, I think my friendships are important, my family means a great deal to me and I want to continue with that route of being a positive influence (even if I don’t consider myself a role model — in fact, I’m not). I also want to make sure that I never settle for less than my worth. I will not sit and simply be comfortable. I want to keep my goals in sight and keep making a difference. Even if I get minor setbacks… I think minor set backs are itty bitty challenges that you have to overcome in order to allow yourself to notice that you’ve worked hard enough to deserve your rewards when you get them.

2010 doesn’t own me. No matter what happens, I’ve had growing memories and can only keep looking ahead to see what 2011 teaches me along the way.