It would be meaningless for me to wish that only wonderful things happen for us this year.  2025, like all the other years, will be a mix if things wonderful, weird, worrisome and maybe worse.   It’s how we respond to the things that happen that defines the quality of our existence. 

I have an incredible life.  It is full of love, community, adventure, freedom and all the things that matter to me.  I often feel the need to pinch myself to be sure it’s not a dream. And yet, I have challenges that I continually work to manage and overcome.  

I shared a post from my personal blog with the real estate community a couple of weeks back about my recovery journey.  It was real, raw and vulnerable about the work I’ve done and continue to do to ensure that I can live a meaningful and fulfilling life.    I had a broad range of responses to that post, and I am filled with gratitude for the positive feedback.  I wanted to offer some follow up thoughts to those that found it uncomfortable. 

Suffering is a part of the human condition. In fact, without suffering, we wouldn’t have joy and without fear, we wouldn’t have courage.  Many essential human experiences share two sides of a coin and without one, you don’t have the other. 

Our culture has encouraged us to bury our suffering, hide our pain, and deny our shame.  We have been encouraged to keep busy, drive hard, honour money and use stimulants for energy, happiness and stress relief.   That’s what I did, and it was rewarding for a while, but eventually it wasn’t fun anymore.  My recovery wasn’t the result of a major mental health issue.  It was me listening to my body, my mind and my soul and making some changes to ensure I have the best quality of life moving forward.  

I shared my story because I see many people suffering with various challenges and I wanted to help them see more options. 

I am not a therapist, or a counselor and I can’t tell you what the best management path is for you.  I fully accept that there are people with challenges that run deep, and their solutions are complex and need to be managed by professionals.

I also think that there are a lot of people who are suffering who could do more to help themselves.  Yes, suffering sucks but it’s a normal part of life.   Most people have some trauma, anxiety, depression or discomfort.  Yes, some people have more, but this is the life we have and for many of us, there is an option to feel meaning, purpose and joy, alongside the challenges.  

We know from the research done on mindsets, that our thoughts influence not only how we think, but how we feel and what we manifest in our lives.   This isn’t magic as some TikTok influencers would have you believe.  What we focus on takes up the space in our minds and crowds out the rest. If I focus on confidence, empathy, professional skills and responsibility, I’ll manifest new clients and personal success.  If I focus on my anxiety, trauma and triggers, I won’t attract much of anything.   

This isn’t about burying your emotions; it’s about accepting them and doing what you need to manage them.    For me it has been a series of adjustments over the years.  I have had a couple of different counselors, I changed my eating and exercise habits, I engaged in activities that are meaningful to me, I joined a couple of new communities, I found some spirituality in meditation. Eventually I made the decision to give up my red wine.  I will continue to make whatever adjustments are required for me to feel good about myself. 

This is healthy.  

While I experienced anxiety and some intermittent depression throughout this period, I also experienced incredible joy, awe and happiness.   

While social media guru’s get rich letting influencers catastrophize normal human suffering, you have choices. 

Look for the glimmers,

Suze