New Year, New Beginnings
It is New Years. A new year, a new beginning. A time when we look forward to what possibilities there are, and we see them as endless. A time when we kick out the old year, and welcome the new. A time when we get the same retread of old articles telling us to open up to the endless possibilities and move forward into what could be. And while these articles are true in what they recommend, they usually neglect to mention one thing... leaving your baggage behind you.
Yes, this is a new beginning. But to fully embrace it, you need to leave behind old habits, old thought patterns, old beliefs. Because you can not fully embrace the changes the coming year has to offer unless you are willing to make changes in how you think. You see, the idea of starting something new brings with it the attitude of looking forward to change.
We can not look forward to change with the same thought patterns we used in the past. In fact, it is those thought patterns that keep us attached to the past and unable to move forward. So, the first thing we need to change is us. We need to change the way we see things. We need to change the way we think about things. We need to change the way we approach things. This means dropping old habits as if they are a blight of pestilence covering our hands, and all we need to do is wash it away. A little soap, a little water, and we walk away clean, ready for the next adventure.
We also need to change how we think of ourselves. We need to drop old beliefs and fears. We need quit thinking that we can’t. Instead we need to bolster our strengths, renew belief that we can, and do, make a difference. We need to renew belief in ourselves, to know we are capable of doing anything we set our minds to.
At New Years, we talk about kicking out the old year as we welcome in the new. But kicking out the old year is more than saying goodbye to the previous 12 months. It is saying goodbye to habits and patterns that we formed that no longer serve us as we move forward. Those patterns may have worked in the past year, but they no longer fit what is ahead. So we leave them behind to develop newer, better methods that will continue to grow as the coming year progresses. We get rid of the things that no longer work, that hold us back, that keep us from growing. And getting rid of these things is the first stage in growth that will allow us to move forward.
Yes, this coming year is filled with promise, and to meet it entirely, we need to walk through a narrow passage that will allow us to get there. But what won’t fit is the stuff we have been accumulating in the past year. So we squeeze through the passage and let go of the things we no longer need. And as we exit, we are fresh and clean and ready to embrace the promises ahead.
This is a wish that everyone have a safe, happy, and prosperous New Year, full of growth, learning, and joy.