New Year’s Eve has always been one of my favorite holidays.
Even now, when I don’t plan on spending the evening attempting to consume
enough alcohol to satisfy a busload of roadies for Motley Crue, I still think
it’s a good holiday, primarily because I’m really enamored with the idea of fresh starts.
I realize that January 1st is
just an arbitrary date, and the beginning of the year could just as easily fall in
March or September (and in certain places it used to), but still, the idea of
starting over is incredibly appealing. Maybe it speaks to human optimism, and
a belief that what was doesn’t
necessarily always have to be?
I imagine that’s part of the motivation behind New Year’s
resolutions. It’s a public (or private, if you’re that type of person) declaration
of what you intend to change. Well, this year I’m in a bit of a quandary. Having just packed up my entire life and moved, I’m already
just a few weeks into a completely new routine, and to be honest, I really like the
direction it’s taking me so far. So instead of making resolutions this year, I’m
going to share a few of the things that that have made this a fresh start. The
first one is something that I’m sure a lot of you might be pondering for one of
your resolutions, working out. I’m no stranger to the gym, and I’ve spent
plenty of hours working out this year, but the last few weeks I’ve been trying
to actually enjoy the time I’m spending in there for its own sake, not for what
I’m going to get out of it in terms of physique, and not as a way to distract
myself from things that are bothering me. I’m not saying that I’m not going in
there with a plan, or that I don’t notice and gain a certain amount gratification
from any aesthetic improvements. I’ve just chosen to actually fully experience
and enjoy my time in there for what it is, an opportunity to use my body and
push myself physically and mentally.
The second thing I’m working on this year is trying to be
optimistic and positive. I don’t mean being unreasonably optimistic, but more
along the lines of not looking for the negative in every situation; the reason
that a plan won’t work or the smudge that ruins a masterpiece. If you know me,
you know this is a heavy lift for me, figuratively speaking. I know I haven’t,
or won’t, always succeed with this, but just consciously attempting it has
produced results that I’ve noticed.
Finally, my writing here is something that has been a big
change. Having an ongoing project, one that causes me to think about ideas or
events that I want to write down, and sticking to it, has been a big change
from how I’ve approached writing in the past. Academic writing afforded me an
opportunity to procrastinate, to obsess over an idea, a single paragraph, or
even just a couple of sentences for days. By the way, that style can and
probably will lead you to turning in your capstone project six months later
than you intended to (I’m not kicking myself too much, that amount of freedom
and space swallows some people whole and they never finish). Writing daily
posts doesn’t just take commitment; it requires you to look at the world
differently. Rather than just stumble through the day, you start to notice
things, even if there isn’t very much happening and all you’re noticing are
what thoughts you’re having. I’ve noticed that it’s made me much more present,
mentally.
One thing that I’ve noticed is the importance of being kind
and understanding with yourself. It’s different than being lazy. It’s about realizing
that we all fall short of our goals sometimes, and not letting one setback
derail your entire program.
Well, those are some of the things that I’ve been doing with my fresh start. What are you planning on doing with yours? Feel free to put your thoughts down in the comment section.
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