A New Year’s Reflection: Embracing Change

It wasn’t until I hit my 40s that I seriously considered a career pivot into a field that had fascinated me for most of my adult life: human behavior. Looking back, I realize I’d been brushing up against it all along during my 25 years in sales and marketing, first in the corporate world and later as the owner of a small business. In those roles, human behavior wasn’t just a curiosity—it was the mountain I had to climb every single day.

When you work in sales, understanding people isn’t optional—it’s essential. How do you connect with someone who doesn’t know you? What keeps them up at night? What drives them forward? Figuring out the answers to those questions wasn’t just about hitting quotas—it was about decoding the complexities of human needs, motivations, and challenges. Those years taught me that human behavior is a puzzle that’s endlessly fascinating and, frankly, never completely solvable.

That’s the beauty of it: there’s no such thing as a true expert in human behavior. It’s too vast, too varied, too deeply personal. Still, many of us—myself included—spend our days trying to understand it better. Why? Because beneath all that complexity lies something truly captivating: patterns. Recognizable, shared patterns in how we think, feel, and act.

One of those universal patterns is struggle. No matter who you are or what your life looks like from the outside, you’re carrying something. Anxiety. Anger. Self-doubt. Addiction. Mood swings. Relationship challenges. The specifics might differ, but the underlying truth remains: struggle is woven into the human experience.

I’ve had my own struggles, and I’ve spent years working on them. It’s been a daily effort, a commitment to self-reflection, growth, and resilience. And here’s the most important thing I’ve learned along the way: change is possible.

Just as struggle is part of the human experience, so too is our capacity for growth. We are wired not only to endure but to evolve. The challenges we face today don’t have to define our tomorrow. With effort, intention, and sometimes a little guidance, we can move beyond our struggles and create lives that feel fuller, freer, and more aligned with who we truly want to be.

That’s the equalizing truth we all share as we step into this new year: we all face struggles. But here’s the hopeful part—the part that makes the future feel just a little brighter: we all have the capacity for change.

So, as we welcome the new year, let’s take a moment to reflect. What struggles are you ready to face head-on? What changes have been calling to you, waiting for you to take the first step? Growth doesn’t demand perfection or even certainty—it just asks for a little courage and a willingness to start.

Whatever your emotional struggle, remember this: change is not only possible; it’s part of what makes us human. And what better time than now—on the cusp of a brand-new year—to embrace it?

Here’s to a year of personal growth and new possibilities. Happy New Year!