“We spend January 1st walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives…not looking for flaws, but for potential.” ― Ellen Goodman

With the New Year upon us, it’s a great time to start thinking about new beginnings and formulating intentions that bring us our desires.  After all, we all want our desires to come to pass so that we can continue to feel satisfied and at peace with life.  With all the New Year resolutions that go forth each January, it’s no surprise that energy levels are the highest come January when many people have a fresh set of goals and a surge of resolve to help them achieve those goals.

It’s interesting to delve into the idea of the calendar as we approach the New Year, as we may be apt to neglect the importance and purpose of the calendar each year. Sure, we write down birthdays and appointments, but do you really understand how calendars serve humanity?

Calendars link us to the cosmos Calendars keep track of time and time only exists in this world that we see.  If you happen to read about the cosmos and spiritual realms, time does not exist.  Various societies have implemented different calendars for their people so that they could serve practical purposes. After all, without calendars and time, most of us would be at a disadvantage in many areas of life.  Though we could use the sun to get an idea of what time it is, we’d be lost in regards to specific times and well, we’d sure miss a lot of birthdays.

The Gregorian calendar There are different types of calendars in use today. The Gregorian calendar came to us from the ecclesiastical community and is primarily used today internationally for civil use. Additionally, the Protestant and Roman Catholic churches use it to regulate their ceremonies. The Hebrew calendar Presently Jews use the Hebrew calendar mainly to serve as a reminder for religious festivals, agricultural timing as well as defining lunar and solar cycles. The New Moon designates the beginning of a new month.

Time is an illusion, yet necessary Whether time is an illusion or not, calendars are of value and the New Year reminds us that there are new beginnings available.  The New Year tends to get people thinking about new goals and dreams. It causes people to make New Year resolutions and wipe the slate clean.  It is actually a great time to create new intentions and action plans that will bring those intentions to fruition. The key is to clarify intentions, create an action plan and then simply follow through with it.  This is where New Year resolutions go south, as many people do well at creating momentum for a few weeks and then momentum slows until eventually the goals are dropped. Maybe they just get busy or the actions are just more difficult that they imagined. Maybe they get bored or just affirm that it’s easier to stay inside the box and be comfortable rather than step out of the comfort zone. Regardless of the reason, new beginnings oftentimes stop short of producing the intended results.

How to keep momentum going As the New Year approaches, go ahead and create some new goals for the New Year. Don’t settle for where you’re at. Step out of your comfort zone.

• Choose one or two areas in your life that you’d like to improve.
• Create an action plan to get those goals accomplished.
• Take your calendar and write down what you will do when and actually follow through.

If you will do this consistently, you will achieve your goals one by one. Consistency and effort are the keys.  You can do what you want to do and have fun while doing it!

 

From the Harvesting Happiness Blog Archives, originally published December 27, 2014