December 29 — What Actually Mattered This Year

If you measure this year by accomplishments alone, you’ll miss the truth.

What mattered probably wasn’t the big thing you posted about. It was quieter. Smaller. More human.

A conversation that shifted something.

A moment you chose kindness when it would’ve been easier not to.

A boundary you held.

A meal shared.

A laugh that surprised you.

These don’t show up in year-end reviews, but they’re the real data.

We live in a culture that celebrates outcomes and ignores endurance. But surviving with your values intact — that counts.

What mattered was that you kept noticing.

That you kept caring, even when it was inconvenient.

That you stayed awake in a world that profits from numbness.

You don’t need to rank your year. You don’t need to justify it. You are not a corporation reporting to shareholders.

This year mattered because you were in it.

And that’s enough.

Julie Bolejack, MBA