Dear 2017, I did good. Dear 2018, I’ve got this.

This is the time of year to really take stock of what has and hasn’t been working in your life. It’s easy to get very self critical. It’s too easy to compare yourself to others, especially as the holiday cards and letters have rolled in chock full of family photos and accomplishments of others. It’s so easy to look at your own life and think, what have I even done?

I was feeling very much this way as the holiday season began to kick off and instead of being productive and getting my seasonal projects in order, I’d sit scrolling through social media playing the comparison game.

There were photos of beautifully decorated Christmas trees, kids on santa laps, yummy homemade treats, gatherings in cute scarves and outfits, great dinners, amazing travels and engagements. There were so many things I didn’t have to remind me of all the ways I hadn’t done anything this year.

Eventually I’d get to my projects which included photo gifts for my family, something I do each year. This involves sorting through the pictures taken that year. But I hadn’t gotten my photos off of my phone and organized into easy to find files,  because I was probably spending time going down social media comparison rabbit holes instead.

So I spent some time scrolling through my own camera roll to find what I needed, looking through all the pics of 2017. For a second I almost forgot I was looking through my own pictures as it had a similar feeling to scrolling through social media pages. Then I saw pics I’d forgotten about. I came across moments that had faded in my memory due to all the sulking over what I hadn’t accomplished.

I went down my own camera roll rabbit hole and started to realize that I’d done some cool things and enjoyed some great moments with good friends. I looked at my own life and moments the way I look at others online or in Christmas cards and started to see how much I had done and accomplished. And how much fun I did have. And how many interesting people I had met. And how many great friendships got even greater. And I realized that I did okay. That I did more than I ever gave myself credit for. Looking through the last year of my life in photos gave me a new perspective.

I highly recommend doing this. Go through your own time lines, or camera rolls as if you were looking into someone else’s life. Take a moment to recall the great things that happened. If there are some unpleasant memories to come across, be glad that you’re now moving forward. It’s amazing what a little time and perspective will do.

The next time you get a holiday newsletter or get stuck in a social media rabbit hole of comparison, just remember that you did good this year. Remember that you had some smiles and some fun and some steps forward.

Make your own holiday card for yourself with a few of the best photos from the year and celebrate the hell out of that thing. Put it on the fridge. Put it on the fireplace. Put it on the bathroom mirror. Display it proud and go into 2018 like you’re going to slay.

Maybe try to avoid the next social media rabbit hole if you can. But if you don’t, oh well. You’re only human, and you’re doing amazing. You got this!