After the holiday celebrations and respite, hopefully we will be ready to face the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities the new year will bring.

It often boils down to our perspective.

Given any challenging situation, do we perceive the glass as half empty or half full? Do we believe in the power of positive thinking? One thing is certain — some level of change will occur whether we choose to be active participants or not.

On the public front, as 2023 comes to a close, it is not too early to consider what is before us in 2024, both for Missouri and our nation and to determine the role we are willing to play to effect positive outcomes and create a better future.

For Missouri, a new legislative session begins Jan. 3. While we may not be thinking about the policies and problems that need to be addressed, many legislators have been busy for weeks pre-filing hundreds of bills on a plethora of issues that could ultimately become law that we will have to live by.

Pre-filed bills that have gotten the most media attention have been those that deal with LGBTQ issues and abortion. But there are many others that address a variety of issues — education, elections, voting, the state Constitution, gambling, firearms, taxes and healthcare among them.

Also, there are major elections that will occur and many offices to be filled, including

governor, U.S. senator and representatives, secretary of state, attorney general and treasurer. Do you know the candidates vying for your vote? Do you know what they stand for, their positions on issues that are important to you, your family and your community?

There are many potential ballot measures regarding the voting process, taxes, abortion, wages, guns and a host of other issues. Do you understand their potential impact?

In addition to our obligations as citizens of Missouri, we also have an important role to play as citizens of this nation in selecting the next president, which by many standards and measures could be the most consequential election in American history.

The presidential campaign is well underway, and there is time for us to carefully weigh our options before we have to cast a vote.

There is so much to consider.

There is so much hanging in the balance.

But how do we cut through the muck and mire to make the best decision?

Our challenge is being able to navigate the vitriol, the lies, the hypocrisy and the double standards and find where the real truth lies.

Remaining engaged and arriving at the right decision on who to choose to lead this country after being bombarded daily with one issue after the other — real or created — until our votes are cast will take some doing.

The last thing we can afford to do is to become fixated on all the negatives that will be a part of our political process for the months to come and decide not to get involved. Let us search diligently for the good, those positions and proposed policies that candidates have to move our nation forward.

As we pause this holiday season, let us think about and appreciate what is good about our nation, our way of life and become recharged and energized.

Let those thoughts motivate and propel us into action in what is bound to be a challenging year ahead, but also filled with many great opportunities to create and shape a better future.

We can only do that if we improve our state of readiness and are willing to get off the sidelines.