And so 2023 starts

 

Today is January 1, 2023. Another year gone. Another new year started.

Somehow, however, it does not feel like just any new year. 2022 was the bridge between what we knew and loved, pre-pandemic, and what is here and now.

So much has changed since the end of 2019!

The start of a new year is often an opportunity to change our lives, start new habits, dream new dreams, set new goals. We know that, sometime around Valentine's Days, most of our new year resolutions would have been forgotten, abandoned by the side of life's road, ran over like roadkill. And that usually happens because we try to change too many things all at once. We forget that making small changes over a long time is far more effective.

I stopped making new year resolutions many years ago. Instead, I try to fine-tune my rituals, the sequential steps we take everyday throughout each day. It starts by writing down what we do during a regular day. We get up, go to the bathroom, take a shower, etc. Each step is a trigger for the next step.

How do we fine-tune our rituals? We simply decide what we want to accomplish and how we can do that. Then we find something in our rituals that we can replace or shuffle to accommodate what we need to do. For example, if we want to be healthier by exercising more, we may find a spot in our rituals that we can use as a trigger for exercising. Let's say that we usually watch TV after dinner. Finishing dinner would be the trigger. If we substitute watching TV with going for a walk, then we will likely achieve what we want.

And it is not an all or nothing proposition. We do not have to give up TV altogether. We can exercise three days and watch TV three days.

Finally, it needs not be perfect. There may be times when the weather just is not OK for a walk. So we can watch TV that day and do a walk the next day.

Let's have fun with life this 2023. We have gone through a lot since the end of 2019.

May you be well, healthy and happy!