Happy New Year! The first day of the new year whatever the calendar or culture is a time for hope and renewed optimism. Unfortunately, just because it’s a new year, our reality doesn’t really change! I am therefore going to take the quote “you’ll never find a rainbow if you’re looking down” from Charlie Chaplin to give my take on how we can approach the new year with the right mindset.
Empowerment quotes are wonderful things. By searching Google you are sure to find one that inspires you. A few of my favourites include “whether you think you can or you can’t, you’re right” (Henry Ford) and “You’ll be about as happy as you decide to be” (Benjamin Franklin). These quotes, along with “you’ll never find a rainbow if you’re looking down” all have an important thread in common; the responsibility for the outcome lies with you.
You will have feelings and opinions about everything of significance that has happened to you in the past year. Hopefully there are more positive than negative, but there will be both. The same will be the case for next year. Some of these events we can impact, avoid or attract, others happen with little or no warning. Given this, how can we best position ourselves to experience more positives than negatives for the year ahead?
This is where we return to Chaplin’s quote and the idea that you don’t find a rainbow by looking down. To me, the rainbow is a metaphor for opportunity. Life is full of opportunity and the great thing about opportunity, is that you never know when the next one will come or from where! If you’re looking down all the time, you are less likely to notice the opportunities that life is presenting.
So where will your opportunities come from in 2023? Is there a society or interest group you would benefit from joining? Do you want to take up a new activity? Are you keeping in touch with the important people in your life as often as you should be? After 3 years of covid related travel and meeting restrictions, it’s likely that 2023 will be very busy as people and businesses try to make up for lost time. How will you manage your time to get the most out if it? I think we need to consider time management more this new year than possibly ever before.
Today I played a round of golf with a group of six people I had never met before and one that I barely know. It’s only when we keep our minds open to new encounters and experiences that opportunities present themselves. Going into the new year with this mindset is one sure step to making sure you leave the door for more positives than negatives in the year ahead.
Happy hunting!
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