Resolutions, Champagne, Dick Clark and a kiss at midnight. Those are the three things New Years Eve is known for...other than a hangover. A unique and, I dare say, lovable quality about New Years is that it presents us with an opportunity to start fresh. We have proverbially wiped the slate clean and are able to face the year with an entirely different type of courage.
Deep down, underneath the layers of sequins and alcohol, we know that the mundane day to day never really changes and for a few hours we believe that the drudgery is over. All the challenges of last year have magically dissipated and the bright, shiny, spanking new year has arrived!! Woo hoo!
Excitement and hope surround the beginning of a new year and it is intoxicating! If you don’t believe me then go to a gym and see how the masses have flocked to it in the hopes that this year will be different. This year they will have the body of a Victoria Secret Model! Statistically, there is a very small chance that this is going to happen but I applaud people for trying.
Soon, however, March storms in and our bright shiny year begins to tarnish. Our motivation begins to wane and, to our chagrin, we realize that this year is shaping up to be no different than the past. Defeated, most of us throw in the towel and say, “next year I will do it!”
While anticipating the year to come, I began to wonder, “What if it was New Year’s Eve all year?” One thing I have learned in the past year is that the only person that can change my life is me. It is a simple concept in theory but a little more difficult in execution.
Around September of last year I started getting bored with life in general. All my normal happenings became only mildly entertaining and after wallowing in a state of perpetual mediocrity for two months, I decided that I was going to shake things up. Since my job wasn’t changing, I would have to move. Although I loved my apartment, I unknowingly created a cozy little comfort zone, or cocoon, and leaving often seemed like too much of a hassle. I had decorated myself into a rut.
First, I made a list of everything I wanted in a new living space; location, price, and roommate. Being a person who likes to have things settled, it was hard to turn down perspective roommates or properties but I was sticking to my guns. I held out for the right one and am delighted to report that I found it. In fact, I think it picked me! The right location, for less than I wanted to pay and an awesome/responsible roommate.
Since this leap worked out so well, I figured I would keep momentum going in the New Year. There are new friends to meet, experiences to be had, trips to take, and more steps in the right direction.
Leaving your comfort zone is never easy but it’s how you move forward. Make a list of all the things you want to do this year and just do them. Keep it close so you are constantly reminded that this year, you have the ability to change your life.
My first task: learn to sing from a professional. This 80’s cover band that has concerts in my head is in need of a front woman and my shampoo bottle is sick of listening to off key rehearsals!
Use the momentum of the New Year and take a few steps forward. And in July, if the mundane finds you, take a few steps in a different direction.
Happy New Year
~E
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