2024, A New Year, A New Beginning!!!
By Oana Lis, Psychologist
*It’s up to you whether you want to use the New Year as a brake or as an engine.* (Henry Ford)
New Year’s Day is the day that marks the beginning of the next calendar year. Julius Caesar was the one who established by law that January 1 was the starting date of a new year. It is said that the Romanians dedicated this day to Ianus, a god of gates, entrances and beginnings. So the month of January comes from Janus, who had two daughters, one facing backwards and the other facing forwards.
Also, New Year’s Eve comes from the French Reveillon, which means Awakening…
*No one ever looked down on January 1st. It is the day when all date their time and rely on what is left. It is the birth of our common Adam.* (Charles Lamb)
So, it’s important, how this beginning of the New Year found you!?
It found you somehow tired, after a year in which you worked hard and it was as if you didn’t choose anything, he found you satisfied, reconciled with everything, he found you with all things arranged and happy in the family, among dear people!?…
It is very important the point from which we start and what we leave behind so that we can start something brand new, with fresh forces and ideals.
*For last year’s words belong to last year’s language and next year’s words await another voice.* (T.S. Eliot)
So, first of all, I invite you to take a look back at the year that has just passed and think about what lessons you have left, where you lost, where you gained, what can be improved and what you can’t do you need more? You know best, reflect a little, because no one will do it for you. And if you don’t, you’ll be overwhelmed with the problems of the New Year and you won’t be able to reach your best version in 2024.
*An optimist stays up until midnight to see the New Year. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year goes away.* (Bill Vaughan)
So, somehow, each year challenges us to want more from ourselves. And, yes, I invite you to look within, for it is only us that we can truly rely on and truly change, if we feel the need. From outside, there will always be blessings, but also problems and challenges, related to the external environment, politics, the state, our partners at home or at work, the climate, the state of peace or not on Mapamont and so on.
Only by focusing on ourselves and being in a state of balance can we face all uncertainties with flying colours.
Looking back on the year ending and setting New Year’s resolutions are traditions with an ancient tradition dating back to ancient times. Except now, people no longer make promises to the gods, but to themselves. However, it is very important to know each other very well and to make achievable plans.
Because, we know very well that changing some already rooted habits is not easy, but not impossible either, the important thing is to be ready for the change. And that starts with the balance sheet of the past year, exactly as it is done in a company.
*Plans are just good intentions as long as they don’t immediately turn into work.* (Peter Drucker)
I even recommend you to do this in writing, to write down your achievements from last year but also your shortcomings. And, from here, a new plan, with personal objectives, not imposed by others, concrete, with benefit for you, so as not to lose your motivation along the way, in achieving them in a real, concrete plan.
*Dreams that come true are not dreams, but plans.*
The most important plans on which we can focus our goals are the following, on the health side (because if you don’t have optimal health, you can’t do the others properly), on the career and job side, on the improvement side relationships with those around you, on the side of financial development and personal development and on your side of social contribution, to make your personal contribution to the world in which we all live.
If we can manage to work on all these areas, we can call ourselves people in continuous evolution, and according to Maslow’s pyramid, it is at the top of the pyramid to have your own ideal, but only those who have gone through the other stages on the evolutionary ladder and can get there is in a state of continuous growth.
*What a man can be, he must be.* (Abraham Maslow)
So change is most of the time, whether we want to admit it or not, it is the key to being able to advance to the top of the pyramid.
*We cannot choose wisely in life, if we do not know how to listen to our inner voice, every moment.* (Abraham Maslow)
As in any other situation, also in the case of resolutions for the New Year, we must arm ourselves with realism, with love, with patience for ourselves and for those around us. We set our desired goals, choose the most important ones for us at the moment and make a list of priorities. Step by step, we can achieve what we set out to do. And no matter what, let’s not give up.
*I can fall ten times, if I can get up 11 times.*
And also we can learn from those who have already achieved what we want, we can ask for professional help, a mentor, we can read, we can listen to podcasts, now technology can offer us many ways of learning, the important thing is that we to be open to evolution.
*All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to follow them.* (Walt Disney)
and of course
*Wanting is not enough. We must do.* (Bruce Lee)
A new year as you wishes,
with love, psychologist Oana Lis
2024, A New Year, A New Beginning!!!