Happy New Year! Cheers to a hopeful outlook and a fresh new start!
"We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day." -Edith Lovejoy Pierce
I love the New Year. If it can be considered a holiday, it is my favorite holiday. I love the feeling and somehow, the permission, to begin again that the new year brings. It's warm feelings of new starts and sparkly new beginnings. No matter what occurred during the previous year, I always feel like the New Year offers a fresh start, bringing new hope.
A Note on New Year's 2021
I'm not so idealistic as to think that magically on January 1, it's out with the coronaverse and in with the new normal. But I am grateful that the vaccines recently released give us something to look forward to in re-engaging our families, tribes and communities.
Personally, 2021 is bringing lots of change to our household. We are moving to a new city. I'm working to get up-to-speed in my new role. We'll be re-establishing our new norms. We might travel again /gasp! We are excited. We love new adventures.
It's not without stress - we are both actively feeling the adage that moving and new jobs are two of the most stressful things you can do, and we have embarked upon both. Our family and tribe is supportive, my new team is fantastic, and we have all that we need.
Setting Intentions with a Word of the Year
I'm a big fan of the word of the year concept. I prefer it over resolutions, and spend time reflecting on where I need focus, bolstering or new habits. I like to pinpoint a word for the upcoming year towards the end of the current year. Words of the Year in the past have included gems like joy, peace, faith, trust and influence. If you'd like to consider your own Word of the Year, the worksheet on this page might help.
New Year's Quotes
If you follow me on social media, you'll also find that I have a love affair with quotes. There's a quote for every situation and I like that they are wee nibbles of wisdom.
Fortunately for us quote lovers, there are some great sites out there sharing New Year's quotes. Here are a few:
BTW, if you're not a fan of the word of the year, what about a quote of the year? It's an easy way to pin your focus on a higher goal or intention as the new year unfolds and we get ready to do this 365-day cycle all over again.
1) Good Housekeeping keeps an excellent list of quotes to ring in the new year. This list is for 2020, but applicable nonetheless.
This first quote is a fave, and a goal we can all aspire to in the new year!
"I don’t know where I’m going from here, but I promise it won’t be boring." -David Bowie
2) For my bookish friends, here's a great list of quotes for the new year from Goodreads. Send me a friend request while you're there!
“For last year's words belong to last year's language And next year's words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning." (Little Gidding) -T.S. Eliot
3) And the ever-growing list of New Year's quotes from Terri Guillemets at Quote Garden:
"An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves." -Bill Vaughan (1915–1977), in The Kansas City Star
Wherever you land on the optimism - pessimism continuum, I hope that you'll look ahead to a new year offering a fresh perspective. Life is too short and the days are too long not to find contentment in what you do.