As this year was coming to its inevitable close, I found myself feeling more contemplative. Because I wasn’t sure why, I posed a number of questions to myself, each of which I was able to answer without taxing myself unduly. Here are some of them:

Question: Do you think you’re becoming more reflective as you get older?
Answer: That can’t be it because I’m getting younger.

Question: Do you think it’s because you’re acquiring more Wisdom?
Answer: You don’t know yourself very well, do you?

Question: Do you think it’s because you’re anticipating more change?
Answer: Now that the penny’s been discontinued, I expect to get less change.

Question: Could it perhaps be seasonal affective disorder?
Answer: I don’t even believe in gravity. So, why would I believe in seasonal affective disorder?

Question: Have you ever been abducted by extraterrestrial aliens?
Answer: We agreed that question would be off limits.

Question: Numerologically speaking, do you think you’re feeling especially ruminative because the significance of 2026 is that it’s a Universal Year 1? Some people might feel undue pressure because ….
Answer: Did you see my answer above about gravity?

Question: I don’t want to get too personal — and I certainly don’t want to pry into your medical history or anything — but have you ever been diagnosed with or treated for Bonkus of the Konkus?
Answer: Will you take it personally if I say you’re starting to get on my nerves?

Moving On

At that point, I decided it was probably best to stop asking myself questions. Maybe it was because I was digging too deep. I don’t know. But I seemed to be getting a little touchy. And since it was the end of the year anyway, I figured I’d give it a rest.

I guess I understand why we become introspective at the end of the year. For those of us who use the Gregorian calendar, December 31^st has the effect — psychological, chronological, cultural, symbolic, imagined, who knows? — of separating the past from the future. Except for the occasional hangover, I’ve never felt different on January 1^st than I did on December 31^st. But maybe I’m just fooling myself.

And in a really odd twist, this is the time of year at which we announce our resolutions; although, we never make a corresponding announcement when we decide to abandon those resolutions months, weeks, days, and sometimes hours into the proverbial New Year. That’s why the salespeople in gyms max their commissions between December 1^st and December 31^st, then take the next 11 months off.

But all of that notwithstanding, as we head into 2026, here’s hoping you’re in a better headspace, as we say in the biz. If you’re comfortable you did your best in the year that ends today — and if you’re reasonably committed to making the year that starts tomorrow a good one — you’re probably doing better than most folks. If so, as I tell my wife routinely, take the points.

Here’s to a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year.

Originally Published on https://www.bizcatalyst360.com/category/lifecolumns/notes-to-self/

Mark O'Brien Writer, Blogger

I'm the founder and principal of O'Brien Communications Group (obriencg.com) and the co-founder and President of EinSource (einsource.com). I'm a lifelong writer. My wife, Anne, and I have two married sons and four grandchildren. I'm having the time of my life.