When the Start of the Year Doesn’t Go as Expected

I began 2025 energized, ready to kick off the new year with a renewed sense of enthusiasm and purpose. Despite the lingering effects of jet lag following our Christmas trip to Europe and the exhaustion from entertaining two toddlers on a ten-hour flight, I woke up this past Monday ready to seize the day, brimming with new ideas. 

However, my enthusiasm was quickly tempered by a call from my children’s daycare, informing me that my older child had fallen ill and needed to be picked up.

Mid-week, the daycare called again—this time, our younger child had also suddenly fallen ill. 

Just like that, my plans for a strong start to the new year were derailed by a few phone calls.

At first—and I won’t lie—I was incredibly frustrated. My plans for the week, particularly setting new business ideas into motion, were thrown off course. Instead, I found myself juggling doses of infant Tylenol; handling wake-ups at 1 am, 2 am, and 3 am; and entertaining two toddlers at home.

But then the news of the wildfires raging out of control in the Los Angeles area broke, showing how entire neighborhoods had been reduced to ashes, wiping out people’s homes and decades of memories. Suddenly, the frustration I had felt evaporated.

Life rarely goes according to plan.

We face countless problems—big and small. While we cannot avoid these mishaps, we can choose how they affect us. Sure, dealing with two crying toddlers at 4 am is not the most enjoyable part of parenthood, and seeing my unaddressed “to-do” pile grow was stressful. But how does that compare to those who have lost everything?

Moreover, aren’t the memories of us all lying together beneath a bundle of blankets, watching yet another episode of “Peppa Pig,” the type of memories I will cherish fifteen years from now? Would I cherish the memory of crossing out a to-do list at the office just as equally strong? I think not.

While 2025 did not start out the way I had envisioned, it did provide me with a series of valuable lessons. And perhaps fate thought I needed to be reminded of these lessons before being “allowed” to do “real work.”

So if your start to the year also didn't go as expected, consider the broader context of what’s happening around us and remember, things could likely be worse.

Let’s try to maintain the enthusiasm and purpose we had before any setbacks, and be just as ready to put new ideas into motion. And even if next week doesn’t go entirely according to plan, that is fine, too.