2020, It’s finally over. The end to the most dramatically terrible year of most of our lives if finally over. Chances are, however, if you’re reading this you’ve probably been touched by some other hardship, and you are not alone. We have all encountered obstacles and challenges that have left us daydreaming about better times and better places, far away from the daily grind of our “new normal”. It’s easy to reflect on better times, slow or minds to wander off to past experiences, places, thoughts and memories from a time when things made more sense. We revisit positive encounters we’ve had with other people, past accomplishments that we’ve made. But these positive uplifting moments and memories of our past may have faded into the shadows of our current events. It’s easy these days to live in those shadows of past successes. It’s easy to forget all the positivity we’ve felt, but it’s still out there. It still exists. The world has become so overwhelmed with negativity and chaos that sometimes it might feel like it’s impossible to climb out of the depths and shadows of once better times and find the same shining light of positivity that we have all once experienced, not so long ago. Well worth that being said, I believe we all deserve a change. Welcome to a new year, new start, and a new beginning.
Let’s move forward.
Let’s start over.
I’ve always felt every new year brings with it the opportunity to make changes and better ourselves in one may, or many. Try something new, do something different. Climb that mountain, or finally clean out the back closet you’ve been avoiding all year. Whatever it means to you, whatever that difference is. It does not matter how large or small, as long as it’s important to you in moving forward. Every little thing counts. Every little step gets you a little further up that mountain.
A lot of people are afraid to set new year resolutions (GOALS) because they are afraid of failure, but failure is something we all experience on the journey to achieving the goals we set. You can not succeed without failure; it’s ok to fail. It’s what we do after that initial failure that means the most. Should we sit down and go home? Or should we get back up and try again, and again until we achieve that goal or atleast start moving toward achieving that goal. I prefer the latter, and I think we all should. Set some goals for this year. Big goals are great and we should all have them, but sometimes people overlook the smaller goals, and how they may help us on our way to achieving larger ones.
For my family and I personally, as well as just about everyone else I know, 2020 ending is a welcomed satisfaction that I think we can all share. On the other side of that coin is 2021, and the opportunity to make some welcomed changes. We may not be able to change the current circumstance we are all living with, but we can at least change our mindsets. We can choose to make changes in our own lives that may make us all feel a little bit better. And sometimes that’s enough.
It may seem like a daunting task; changing. Changing something, anything. People don’t like change. It forces us out of our warm, soft comfort zones when we decide we want to change something about ourselves or something in our immediate lives. Sometimes, however, those comfort zones become too comfortable. Sometimes that warm, soft space can actually become more harmful than good. It’s not until we take a step outside of that comfortable place that can we begin to move forward. I know this because I do it all the time. It’s easy to stick with the norm and go through the motions. It’s easy, and it’s comfortable, but nothing ever changes. Things may not get any worse, but they also won’t get any better. Or maybe things will get better, slightly, through circumstance, but they can only get so much better (usually only slightly) before you find yourself in the same monotonous rut once again. Step outside of the comfort zone, even if it’s just one step, and see what happens. That’s when you begin to move forward. That may just be the beginning point of starting over.
So, my goal for this year is I want to be better at something every single day. Of any sort. Better at my job, a better friend, a better significant other. Learn something new, try something new. Everyday I want to be a little bit better at something, or many things. No matter how small or insignificant some achievements may seem at the time, they all count toward the bigger picture. Every step toward the goal is a step closer to achieving it. In a strange way I enjoy the slow moving progress of working toward large goals. Instead of the near instant gratification of reaching smaller, more easily achievable ones I like watching and tracking progress. I find it encouraging and it has a sense of reward in knowing I’m becoming better at something.
So Happy New Year friends. Best wishes of health and happiness to everyone. We are living in a new year full of potential and opportunity. Let’s all aim for something, and move toward it. One step at a time. What is the goal going to be?
Click the photo to learn more about Coda LeClaire.
