When things look bad, I always try to pause and think about everything I have in life and how lucky and blessed I am to have them. There’s no reason why businesses shouldn’t take the same approach.

So despite our fear of the looming Fiscal Cliff and weak holiday sales stats, let’s look at three good things that happened for the business world in 2012 and hope that their momentum can carry into 2013 despite any obstacles that come our way.

1. The Housing Market. It grew more than 4.6% this year and is expected to keep on rising. Kudos to our friends in real estate who make it happen.
2. Travel, especially Hotels. Hotels have seen a pretty good year in 2012, including steady demand, new construction, and perhaps most important, they were finally able to raise rates.
3. Auto Sales. December is looking like a strong month for the auto world, and if it pans out, there should be a 13% YOY increase in sales for the auto industry in 2012.

It may not be 2007 again. And the U.S. won’t likely return to those spending levels anytime soon. But we need to be grateful for what we have and think about new ways to facilitate growth and plow forward in 2013.

May your coming year be a joyous and prosperous one.

UPDATE: We can actually add a fourth silver lining to the list – the boating industry – which is estimated to have achieved a 10% increase in sales for 2012.