At this time of the year every year, without fail, I feel contemplative. As a teenager, it was bad. Really bad. I would actually mope about the year we were leaving behind — I think it came from having a bit of a Peter Pan complex, the whole not wanting to grow up thing. And yet I did want to grow up. I did want to move on to The New and leave The Old behind. Except when The Old had been so lovely that I couldn’t imagine The New possibly outshining it.

Thankfully, I’ve mostly outgrown that. I say thankfully because, if I hadn’t, leaving 2012 behind would have me moping big time. This year was wonderful. We shot some incredible weddings, met some even more incredible people along the way, and discovered new and wonderful facets of our own marriage. And learned some valuable lessons. Among them:

1.) Dream bigger — because whatever your dreams are, what God has in store is probably even bigger.
2.) Stepping out in faith is a wonderful thing.
3.) Build your business to be what you want it to be — not what someone else has built theirs to be, or even what your clients want it to be. Build it to suit your own life and your own needs, and the rest will follow.
4.) Take time to be lazy once in a while. It will make you appreciate your bursts of great productivity more. And make everything more fun.
5.) Do not pre-plan your plans but then fail to execute them. This applies to business and personal life, but right now I’m guiltily thinking about this year’s Christmas shopping.
6.) Seek out the life you want — don’t just wait for it to find you, because it probably won’t.
7.) When it comes to happiness, most of the time it’s 90% attitude, 5% circumstances, and 5% the amount of chocolate you have at your disposal.
8.) Don’t be afraid to say no. Say it frequently. Say it to yourself. Don’t be afraid of what comes after “no.”
9.) Having a solid budget and sticking to it makes you feel more financially free, not less. It’s a life-changer, in the very best of ways.
10.) God is good. In all circumstances. It’s something we will always cling to.

All in all, this has been a fantastic year. But I’m not sad to leave it behind, because I have high hopes next year will top it. Happy New Year!

~ Laura