Fresh start

“Be willing to be a beginner every single morning.” ― Meister Eckhart 

A new year means new beginnings. Or at least that’s what I want to focus on for this 1^st Wednesday wellness of the 1^st day of 2014. Five years ago I talked about beginning again (see Jan 2008 blog post): the same theme is with me presently.

Maybe many could benefit from this gentle reminder that we are beginners – yes, all of us, at least in some ways – and that it is good to allow ourselves to start anew. Especially as we ponder resolutions or ways of being that may be more about wellness in the days ahead.  

I read this in “Why We Form New Year’s Resolutions” --

“Recent research helps explains why we pick this date for personal renovation, and how we can restart the clock if we slip up. In work presented last month at the Society for Judgment and Decision Making’s annual conference, and currently in press at Management Science, Hengchen Dai, Katherine Milkman, and Jason Riis of the University of Pennsylvania document what they call the “fresh start effect.” That is, temporal landmarks (such as the beginning of a new year, new month, new week, new haircut, or after a holiday or birthday) often motivate aspirational behavior (like dieting or learning a new skill).

In short, “Dai and her collaborators offer two likely mechanisms for the fresh start effect. First, we like to think we’re improving over time, so we attribute past mistakes to inferior versions of ourselves. And we use our current self-conceptions to inform our behavior, so if you look back and think that you’re a harder worker today than you used to be, you will continue to work harder than you used to.”

Second…. Temporal landmarks “may interrupt linear time, causing us to glance around and consider our ultimate goals. We may then become more motivated to reach those goals, whether we want to lose weight or be a better parent."

“The beginning is the most important part of the work.”
― Plato, The Republic

Lately I have appreciated experimenting with giving interested curious inner attention and acceptance to who and how I am (to emotions, thoughts, body sensations that have meanings). This practice of self-compassion and self-forgiveness feels somewhat like a fresh start, and has the effect of motivating me - not toward license but rather - more toward wellness choices.

Possibly you might also treat yourself with compassion as you consider what this new year might bring? And whether there are resolutions (or, as I like to say instead, intentions) made or not?

As always, I wish you all goodness and wellness in this new year day and each day.

"The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness..."
Psalm 103:8; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2; Psalm 86:15; Numbers 14:18; Exodus 34:6

"A sunrise is God's way of saying, "Let's start again."

― Todd Stocker, Refined: Turning Pain Into Purpose

“Though your destination is not yet clear /
You can trust the promise of this opening;/
Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning /
That is at one with your life’s desire.

Awaken your spirit to adventure; /
Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk; /

Soon you will be home in a new rhythm, /
for your soul senses the world that awaits you.”

–         John O’Donohue,  For a New Beginning, To Bless the Space Between Us

PS: Here’s a bonus!  I am grateful for this idea that my husband offered:

Just for fun, consider the benefits of cold weather (Check out “6 Health Benefits of Cold Weather” -- those of us in the northern climates may as well appreciate the cold since we have to live in it. Did you know that Minnesota has the second-highest life expectancy of any U.S. state? Maybe it has something to do with the cold weather?).