From the Sheriff, Ken J. Masacara

Looking forward to 2021

I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to bid 2020 farewell and see what 2021 has in store for us. Between a worldwide pandemic, one of the most active hurricane seasons we have ever seen and a highly contentious election cycle that resulted in the largest voter turnout in decades, it has been quite a year.

As we look to 2021, let me remind you of some great tips for to help usher in the New Year with optimism and positivity.

Expand your thinking with new experiences. In 2021, think about all the things you have been putting off. Things you wished you had done but always said “I’ll get to it later”. What better time to do it than

now. Doing these new things will not only provide a sense of personal accomplishment, but will also open your mind to new ways of thinking, new perspectives on life and living, and expose you to new friends, sights, locations and maybe even new cultures. Start a new hobby, go back to school, or commit to reading a book each month.

Don’t be afraid to fail. In my job I see many people who think they have failed in life and have nothing left to live for. The fact is, failure is a normal part of life, and there is always room for a second chance or

a fresh start. Consider failures as a roadmap for what to do next. If 2020 hit you like a sack of bricks and you feel hopeless or like a complete failure, make 2021 your year and start fresh.

Practice the one-a-day principle. You can’t please everybody all the time and you can’t be all things to all people, but you can do something extraordinary for someone each day. Find a customer, colleague, relative or a friend each day and do something remarkable. It doesn’t have to be a big deal to make a big impression.

Schedule family time. Set up a schedule that is devoted only to family. Maybe it’s playing a game with the kids twice a week or going to get ice cream – or having ice cream delivered in our COVID times, it could even be having one meal a week with the entire family, no phones, no TV, no distractions. This

one simple act will make a world of difference to those you love.

Take stock and charge forward. Ask yourself what battles did you fight and not win last year – personally, professionally, physically, emotionally? Are any of those battles worth continuing? Why didn’t you win them last year? What can you do to win them this year? How can you make those

things you liked most about last year happen more frequently? Self-reflection provides a great opportunity to reset yourself and find what’s important in the New Year.

Celebrate every milestone. Hey, let’s face it, time is flying and in the blink of an eye we might miss something important in our life or the lives of those we love. 2020 certainly proved that with the number of people who fought COVID and the families impacted by those that lost that battle. In 2021,

celebrate every milestone in your life. Celebrate those failures and fresh starts. Celebrate those new friendships you made by being the first to say hello. Celebrate the new thing you started. Milestones are everywhere and focusing on them instead of the “big picture” makes working toward that big picture

much more rewarding and enjoyable.

Have gratitude. Most importantly, as you start 2021, remember to have an attitude of gratitude. My grandmother used to say it’s better to be humbly grateful than grumbly hateful. Take a life inventory. How are your relationships with friends and family? How often do you laugh? Are you doing the things you love the most? You will realize in your inventory of life that you have much to be grateful for. Celebrate those things all year long, and by effectively using the information above, you will add to that

list of gratefulness, making 2021 one of the best years yet.