New Beginnings

I love new beginnings, especially the first of each year. It feels like a clean slate, a fresh start, a blank page. It’s a chance to review the past year, acknowledge my accomplishments and be grateful for all the blessings. Also it’s a time to look at the past challenges and mistakes to learn from them then let them go. It’s a whole New Year!

I no longer make New Year’s resolutions. They are often too ambitious and not well planned. They can be discouraging, especially if you can’t keep them even for a few months. I prefer New Year planning. With a plan rather than a resolution you can build in short term goals to satisfy the instant gratification need. That way you can check some things off as successes without having to wait a whole year to see if you kept your resolution. A plan is flexible. You can adjust, revise and make changes as you go along so that it’s always current and interesting.

The best thing about a New Year is that it’s the beginning of 365 new beginnings! Each day you can start anew. As I write about New Years and new beginnings, it’s February 10th, Not New Year’s Day but still a new beginning. For me it’s the beginning of a new blog, a part of my New Year plan. It’s the start of something new and a brand-new day to enjoy.

In a condo in Durham, NC where my husband and I frequently stay, the following quote is framed in the bathroom, right next to the mirror. (A good place for a focusing thought!)

“Each day is a new beginning…Another chance to learn more about ourselves, to care more about others, to laugh more than we did, to accomplish more than we thought we could, to be more than we were before.” –Anonymous