Live like the story continues past the credits, because it does.

If this is all there is, then every loss is final and every ending is total, and most people carry that pressure without ever saying it out loud. Believing the story keeps going changes the weight of a bad year. It does not make grief smaller or the hard parts less real. It means they are not the last word on anybody.

Ask what you would do differently this month if you were not in a hurry to get everything settled. Be slower with people and less frantic about outcomes. Let some things stay unfinished without treating that as failure.