In December of 2019, I did what I do most years and worked on choosing a “word” for 2020. It’s a simple way to think about what you want the theme of the new year ahead to be, what you want to accomplish, and maybe even how you’d like to grow personally or professionally. In the past, I have chosen the more obvious words like “Focus”, or “Abundance”. But at that time, something else was on my heart. 

I was very pregnant, and knew our lives were going to change quite a bit come late spring. The idea of so much change was a little frightening to me, and while we had a pretty good idea of how we’d approach juggling the responsibilities of raising a newborn and managing multiple businesses, there was still so much unknown. 

So, in a rare moment of humility on my part, I landed on the word “surrender”. 

To me, surrender didn’t mean to give up and fall to the changing winds of life. Instead, it was a simple reminder to accept the things I couldn’t change and embrace the unknown with grace and bravery. It was an attempt to allow myself to step away from the illusion of control, and step into new frontiers knowing that it wouldn’t all be perfect, but the journey would be worth it. 

Well, as we all know now, 2020 had quite a few more surprises in store for us, and interestingly, surrender to has been to survive in some cases. No amount of positive thinking or impulses to control could have saved us from the changes we (and so many others) have had to make this year. We’ve all had to make enormous changes in the way we live and work, and in many cases, painful sacrifices. 

But I’ve also found that, in surrendering to change, we can often find ourselves in a place of acceptance. And in finding acceptance, we can find contentment and even joy in places we didn’t expect. 

Soon I’ll again choose a new “word” for 2021, but I think I’ll also hang on to a tiny sliver of surrender. To remind us to stay humble, to embrace the unknown. To let change keep us tender, and to refocus on what truly matters, especially as we enter the holiday season. To surrender to that which we do not control, and let it hold onto those we love the most. And, to hope that all that change and uncertainty might be bringing us to even brighter days ahead.