What was the best moment that could serve as proof that everything is going to be alright? And how will you incorporate that discovery into the year ahead?

In 2016, it was the moment that when immersed in the election aftermath that anything could change. In 2015, it was the moment when I realized that I could finish Ice Cream Travel Guide. In 2014, it was when I wrote a well-crafted piece (that I read to a live audience 11 months later). In 2013, it was when light shone in the face of despair. In 2012, it was when I stood up for myself. In 2011, it was a moment of clarity, sincere belief and friendship. In 2010, it was an action of commitment.

I got many rejections this year. I got the disappointments. I saw the disbanding of the nation heading toward the unneeded isolationism.

But what made everything ok was when I gave advice to others. People who were seeking solace, mentorship, hope found me. I often wasn’t ready to give it. I didn’t quite believe myself, but I tried to give the right thing.

And oddly, others believed me. The more that I said it. The more that I started believing it. And the more that it became true.

The people who were starting in UX and wanted my ideas. It was the new writers. It was the people who had just moved to San Francisco. And other.

And it really made a difference to me.

When it comes to aspirations, it’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen. What’s your next step?

In 2010, it was about dream making. In 2011, it was about sticking to my boundaries. In 2012, it was about being true. In 2013, it was about embracing fear. In 2014, it was sitting my butt down and writing. In 2016, it was about leading.

Interestingly, in 2017, I did make that effort to lead. It paid off, because I acted more like I knew what I was doing. Although there were a few moments where I expressed my own insecurity openly. But I kept going.

My next step is about persistence. I know my goals. In a short story from a few years ago, I wrote a character based on myself that simply declared to another that she always knew the right choice. She never was uncertain. She was deliberate of her choices that were based on evidence and data. And partly intuition.

What matters the most is pursuing those goals, because I know what I want. So I must persist despite rejection. Despite disappointment.

I will keep prevailing. In writing. In the job. In the home. Because setbacks shouldn’t matter. They are just stumbles along the way.

2017 was a lot of trying. But that also meant a lot of failures. When I succeeded, I really did succeed.

There were the years 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016.

2018, I hope, will be full of successes. Because with all that rejection (and disappointment), I can only go up. I have learned.

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