Recent dramatic events in a friend or family member’s life might be causing you to think more about the quality of your own life. You can learn from the choices that other people have been making. In fact, it’s one of the wisest ways to get your life lessons. Today is a great time to reflect on what has been going on and figure out how you want to deal with it. Do you have your priorities in the right order? Putting yourself toward the top of the list, if not at the very top, is a good idea.

All of a sudden you get a glimpse at how far you’ve really come — it hits you when you least expect it. Give yourself a minute to revel in your accomplishments. Don’t minimize your effort. This self-recognition has been a long time in coming, so let it sink in.

Be up front about what’s important to you. Directness is part of what makes your relationship work. If you keep that principle handy and act on it regularly, you can improve the current situation more rapidly than you thought possible.

When it comes to business, you can now honestly say you’ve experienced the best of times and the worst of times. What the future holds depends on which kind of vision you choose to generate.