As this year (2013) comes to an end and 2014 is beginning for so many, I reflect a little on the year that's passed. The things I wanted to do and didn't (mostly). The things I accomplished. The unsettled nature of my year, both personally and professionally. But I also find myself thinking about all of the resolutions that people are planning for tomorrow. All the bad habits they're going to stop or the good habits they're going to start. And all of the angst and guilt that comes of likely failing to achieve their goals.
Why is it that New Year's is tied up with resolutions? Why not, rather, take every day as a chance to "start strong"? I'm no guru on this and certainly a poor adherent, but rather than waiting for New Year's, we should be encouraging people to take every day as a chance to make the changes in their lives.
When people try to start quitting smoking, they are often surprised to hear that unless they are actively smoking a cigarette, they've already quit - they just need to not start up again. It's incredibly hard - nicotine is addictive, et al - but the fact remains that you've already quit. Why not try to not smoke that next cigarette today? Why wait until tomorrow? Or the end of the pack?
I believe the psychology lies within these transition moments. There's something about completion that triggers a transition in our brains. The end of the cigarette. The end of the pack. The end of the year. I'm not a psychologist butI am fascinated with how our brains work - and don't work. And I'm sure there's a term (or terms) for all of this. But I think if we can begin to break the cycle of complete/restart and look at every day as a chance to start remaking ourselves anew, we may be more apt to live in the present and not the past or the future. And the present is where it's at.
Happy New Year, everyone. May it be filled with less of what caused you pain and more of what caused you joy. And may you treat every day as the "present" that it is.
