I spent New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day sick on the couch with my daughter. Not exactly the start I was hoping for, but one I think is probably most appropriate.

After the last couple years, it’s become very apparent that dreams and ideas can be shattered in an instant by people and viruses and tragedies of life. But that doesn’t mean we should stop trying, stop yearning to grow and to improve. It just means – for me at least - I need to get better at what I focus on.

Instead of New Year’s resolutions that include traveling overseas, writing a book, or any other grand adventure, my goals this year are quiet. They’re self-reflecting and purposeful, with a focus on the People around me, my character, and the things I can control.

Things like: playing more card games with my kids, spending much less time on my phone, making more backyard fires, and investing in my wife.

If the last two years have taught us anything it is that we cannot expect what is unexpected. What we can expect, however, is to wake up each day and be intentional about the people that are in our lives and the opportunities that we have been given.

We have been placed where we are for such a time as this. And although many of us are struggling with how to make sense of it all or how to move on from pain and sorrow and disappointment, the reality is, so too is our neighbor, our coworker, our family and friends. And they need us. They need you!

This year I am easing into the New Year with a nasty cough, achy joints, and simple plans: with what skills and gifts I have, love and care for others. Because at the end of the day, if I have all the adventures and Instagram posts and publications to my name, but I do not have my neighbor or my friends or a relationship with my wife and kids, what does it matter?

It doesn’t.

What about you? What are you striving for? What are your goals for this new year? And what has the last couple taught you about how to dream and where to grow?