New Years Traditions
Ah New Years, what a wonderful time. Time to get together, have some fun, maybe gather to watch the clock countdown to midnight. I grew up watching a giant peach drop (I’m from GA after all), I also like singing ‘Auld Lang Syne’. There’s a lot of traditions out there. I heard that Alabama has a possum drop, I’m not making this up. Fun as this all is, I’m determined to make 2024 a big year. After years of trial and error, I’ve come to a simple, yet profound conclusion; if I try to implement my New Years resolutions on New Years I’ve already lost. Instead, I’ve already implemented any changes right now, in the middle of November.
Word Hard VS Think Smart
Starting New Years in November may seem backwards, sort of like eating steak with a spoon. Allow me to remind you of the adage; think smarter, not harder. If you want to succeed in an area where the mass fail, then don’t imitate the mass. Whatever everyone else is doing, try the opposite. This rings especially true in the area of New Years resolutions. Roughly 90% of all people fail their resolutions within the first two weeks.
In my case I am determined to create a major breakthrough this coming year. There is a sort of collective energy that goes into January 1, but it never lasts. Rather than looking at New Years as the driving catalyst, I intend to approach it more as a nitrous boost. Helps me reach the finish line a little faster, but isn’t my primary fuel.
A Year Of Change
2024 will be an unforgettable year for me. I fully intend to fulfill a long belated dream; writing and publishing a novel. There it is. My only resolution. No, I don’t need to drop any weight, or any of the usual things people make as their goals. This is already a dramatic departure from how I’ve approached a new year in the past. I used to make up a list of about a dozen things accomplished. Guess how much I ended up completing? One or two on a good year.
Putting Things Into Focus
This upcoming year, my theme is focus. I’ve been working on trying to complete a novel off and on for a few years. For years I struggled with a sense of inadequacy, feeling that I wasn’t ‘qualified’ or that I didn’t know enough. So I kept putting off my project(s) until I felt like I was ‘ready’. I’ll let you in on a little secret, this is a monstrous lie. You’ll never ‘feel ready’. It is simply another form of procrastination.
Still Learning, Still Growing
I’m not an old man by any stretch, but even so, the older I get the more I come to realize just how much I have to learn. That probably sounded cliche but it’s true. I feel like the world is constantly expanding all around me. Just when I think I have a good grip on something, I end up learning something that makes me realize how much more there is to learn. So waiting until I feel like I ‘know enough’ is utterly futile.
Here I am, working on my first novel. My New Year starts right now. By the time Jan. 1 actually comes around, the initial high of working on a new project will have long worn off, as will the shock when the work really starts to set in. I feel genuinely optimistic, confident in a way I haven’t felt before. I’ve spent years writing my own story. I’m already working not he next chapter, and from there, who knows what will happen?
