The cooler air, the hectic mornings, and the rush of school buses in the distance, all prompt the conclusion that 2015 is a mere four months away. Though I welcome the subtle impressions of fall, they also whisper that another year will culminate soon, becoming a dim memory, while the next year forges it way forward, whether we are ready or not. It leads me to think, “2015 ~ how will I most remember you?”
Every year starts with such fanfare and hope….it’s the equivalent of youth in a bottle. When we are 18, the world is ours to experience. Every adventure is a new one, and every task one that makes us grow in some way, either in building our confidence or testing our resilience. But as we age, the glow of ambiguity softens.
A series of accomplished goals, tested experiments, or ideas of “what could have been,” now stock the shelves where enthusiasm, ripe anticipation, and crisp expectation once stood tall. We’ve been there, done that.
It is only the arrival of the New Year that inaugurates the promise of a new beginning, a chance to start again, a time where we can fashion new dreams and heckle at risk once again. Our early winter mornings are brighter knowing that “this year will be different,” as we open our minds to new opportunities and welcome every challenge tossed our way. All “exercise goals” are fully met, every investment is a good one, and every day is worthy of positivity (surely, I will get promoted this year).
But before we know it, that initial enthusiasm is soon replaced by the monotony of acceptance (“Well, at least it’s a good job,”) and our standard set of goals, fears, and anxiety quickly envelope us.
By late spring, our stability is held in the highest regard….the possible variability of our lives shunned. Swap our 401k for a Virgin Galactic ticket to the moon? NEVER! (Ok, maybe, but not really)
But we do have a choice.
As September rolls in, and before the forced gaiety of Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas consume our lives, we can continue as “status quo,” or reclaim our gumption. We can to hold on, re-assess, and not let this year pass us by so quickly, at least not without asking ourselves, “WIFM(What was in it for me)?” But only we can ask & remind ourselves….
I need to remind myself that this month, I will focus on me. Just like when the New Year started, I need to set & reflect on my goals and keep them prioritized. Now is the time…I need to re-align and balance myself…and just be purely selfish…and get right into it.
Before the year ends, let me be sure to do something that was a goal for me…just me. Let me remember how I felt at the beginning of 2015, and emerge again with that anticipatory sentiment.
Let me sharpen my pencil…and focus my mind. Let me entertain a fresh, new goal in my mind….feel the expectancy and the joy of accomplishing it by December 31, 2015. Let me re-capture the ambiguity of my youth….let me feel the birth of new desires to master. Let me push myself to uncomfortable territory.
Let me yield to the silent yearning from deep within that is only heard when I listen close. Time is racing on….and never stopping for rest. I must get on it.
I must motivate and encourage myself. I must become my greatest champion and the diehard crusader for my own cause. I must invite that experience, take that class, break that habit, or research that trip….I must do something! Clock is ticking….
“After all, I want to remember 2015 as the year that I ……and there are only 3.75 months left to do it!”