Where did this year go? We cannot believe in just a few weeks we’ll be counting down to midnight to bring in 2015. As we start to reminisce of the events of this year (and read every year-in-review piece of information we can), we also start to get a little excited for January and the renewed optimism for change, for a better life, for a better you that comes with the arrival of a new year. This fresh start gives us a chance to reinvent our lives, ourselves, our homes, and our outlook. It allows us to reinvigorate ourselves, to shed the baggage of the previous year and do anything. Anything is possible!
This year it’s not about making a resolution that honestly last year we broke about 10 days into the New Year. It’s about reinventing the way we live.
Here are five things we’re doing to get ready for 2015 and we thought that we’d share with you:
One: Let go.
This is going to be a tough one. Many times we are held back by the tangled web of previous failures, commitments, emotions, and barriers. Change is hard and we tend to love to hold on to things (right). We tell ourselves that we cannot change careers because we’re used to what we’re doing and it’s too hard to change. We make it super easy on ourselves to not find time to get healthy and fit because we have all these other things to do. And, sad to say we cannot find time for our loved ones because we have too many commitments.
This is all old baggage. A fresh start demands a clean slate. Let everything from the past go (easier said than done, I know). Let go of the old ways to what you’ve been doing for the past year, or years. Let go of failures that creep into your head. Let go of fears you’ve built up. Let go of your ideas about what your life has to be like, because that’s the way it’s evolved so far. Let go of long-held beliefs and habits.
You have a fresh start. Let go of last year, and start anew.
Two: Dial in on what matters to you.
Do not focus on goals for an entire year; instead, just focus on today (because that is all you have….right now, this moment, this day). Identify the things you are most passionate about. Determine what you get the most fulfillment from. What excites you? Figure that out (because you already know what that is) and bring that forward in what you are thinking about today. It might be a project that takes you the entire year to complete, but make it a priority and allocate time and your energy to see it through.
Three: Clean out the distractions and get focused.
A Zen Master told us to “clear away email and Facebook and Twitter and your favorite blogs and news websites and social forums, clear away the iPhone or Blackberry or Android or cell phone, clear away all the little nagging work and chores and errands that pull at your attention, clear away the clutter that surrounds you (sweep it off to the side to deal with later). In fact, if you can, shut off the Internet for a while.” (Zen Habits 2010) Once you have removed the distraction, it will be easier for you to find focus. Start with 15 or 20 minutes at first and build up to 30-60 minutes each day. Focus on the thing that matters most.
Four: Be happy.
Don’t look at happiness as something that will come when you’re done with this goal, or when you’ve attained a certain accomplishment or certain amount of wealth or material goods. Don’t look at happiness as a destination, something that you’ll get later. Happiness is possible right now. When you learn to be happy now, it’ll always be here.
Five: Make every day January 1.
Consider 2015 your own Ground Hog Day (the movie). Every morning when you jump out of bed you have the chance to reinvent yourself. A chance to make a difference. A chance to do the things that are passionate about. A chance to be focused. To be happy.