The New Year is quickly approaching and so are the expected thoughts of working on bettering ourselves, and our lifestyles. It’s the time when we reflect on our previous year. Yet we never seem to reflect how well it went or the unforgettable people we met or memories we made. Instead we focus on the moments that we wish we could hit the redo button on or we could have had more control over. Then we promise ourselves that this New Year will finally be different, we’ll have more control.
But the truth is no matter what year it is there is so much we don’t have control over. Each year there is never a redo button and there will always be moments you would give anything to forget. What we do have control over when the new year progresses is the opportunity to receive and give second chances and fresh starts. It’s not about setting that unattainable goal that you’ll be distraught over through the year. It’s about taking chances and surprising yourself. It’s okay to look back on the year and think about the faults, but don’t forget to think about the successes too.
Look back, and recognize the promises you failed to keep, and try for the New Year to only make agreements you can hold. Try to think about the times you found yourself putting up a wall because fear got the best of you, and go into the New Year with those walls down. The more opened you are to others and to the world the more there is a chance your year will be filled with excitement and adventure. The way you lived your life last year doesn’t have to be the way you approach life this year. It’s a second chance to not be so afraid or selfish or insecure and instead be daring, give more, and worry less. Don’t be so concerned with what you think should be happening within the next week or month. Instead, embrace what is happening, because what is meant to be will come, overthinking it will not rush the process along contrary to what our brains may think.
The count down until the ball drops is not just a count down for the New Year but it’s for the new moments that lie ahead of you. It’s for the new failures that you will endure, the new painful and cherished memories you’ll make with people old and new. It’s a count down to the unknown. The unknown that you should not fill with unattainable goals but with an open mind to embrace the new chances and experiences that will naturally allow us to become a little bit more of you we were always striving to be.
