Congratulations! Today is your day.

Dr. Seuss has been on my mind lately. This year has been one of the most turbulent of my career, and I’ve been thinking back to all those pivotal moments in the last 12 months spent with employers, mentors, prospective employers, and support from dear friends.

You’ll look up and down streets. Look ’em over with care.
About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.”

A LinkedIn connection leads to a dream opportunity, or a friend tweets out a job opening at his company and you land the position. Has this happened to you in 2015? Maybe you turned something down this year. How would your life be different today if you hadn’t?

…you may not find any you’ll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you’ll head straight out of town.

Was your life upended by a move in 2015? Whether for career, family, love or some combination of the three, maybe this Christmas has been a little different. Or maybe the move wasn’t from point A to point B, but from one industry to another, leaving you feeling like a hiker without a compass.

…when things start to happen,
don’t worry. Don’t stew.
Just go right along.
You’ll start happening too.

Oh, the places you’ll go!

Maybe this year you visited once-in-a-lifetime places that top all the rest. Two of my friends recently enjoyed champagne on the Speaker’s balcony at the U.S. Capitol after getting engaged. What a moment for the scrapbook!

Maybe you spent time in a dark, aching Slump. Getting laid off. Walking away from a toxic relationship. Losing a baby.

Did you go through a Slump this year? How did you handle it? (Are you even out yet?)

On these cold days and dark nights when we’re forced indoors, it feels natural to burrow into something comfortable to hibernate. Unfortunately, hibernating can sometimes get you stuck… in the Waiting Place.

…waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.

Don’t you just love Dr. Seuss? This was a man born in 1904. He watched every major event in the 20th century. World War I, Prohibition, the Great Depression, World War II—all of it. And this was his take on waiting.

By the way, “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” was published in 1990. Dr. Seuss (who was actually Theodore Giesel) died in 1991. I think it’s encouraging that he used the last pages in the last book published in his lifetime to assure the kids of the world (and of course, their grownups too) that we would most definitely NOT get stuck in the Waiting Place.

So what does that mean for your new year?

If you already know you want to write a book, find a new job, or lose 20 pounds, great! Go do it. There are about a million resources to help you, including the high-energy team at Weaving Influence.

I’m most interested today in those of you who, like me, may not really be sure where you are right now, much less where you’re going. Are you in a Slump? In a Waiting Place? Grinding on for miles across weirdish wild space? Leave a comment below to mark this place along your journey.

This wonderful Dr. Seuss book – and the New Year– are for us. They’re an excuse to reflect, reminisce, ask questions, and find a safe place to hibernate if you need to. It’s ok. You’ll be back at the top of the heap when you’re ready. 98 and ¾ percent guaranteed.

Laura Finch

Laura Finch, a native of Wheaton, IL, has eight years of experience in politics and news, including time spent working as a press aide to a U.S. congressman and a stint as a producer for a morning cable news show. She holds an undergraduate degree in psychology from Taylor University in Indiana, a graduate degree in digital journalism from American University in Washington, D.C., and is an alumna of Indiana’s Lugar Series. She has also been published in one book, “The Zambia Project,” about a major student AIDS project completed through WorldVision. In her spare time Laura loves to run along the Potomac and discover new D.C. restaurants with her husband, Andrew.