Moving Forward

Do you ever notice that some things seem to bring out all the crazies?  No, I’m not talking about the political situation in the United States, my neighbour to the south.  I’m talking about the new year.

Whether your perception of this is in September, with school, or in January, with the calendar, many people use this as a catalyst for change.  Or at least, an excuse to talk about it, as online assessments of new years resolutions measure their success between 8% and 20%.  Neither of these is a number I’d go looking for in any positive context!

Catalysts for change are good, right?  After all, there are times where we all benefit from the metaphorical “kick in the pants”.  For me, that catalyst is often a move, but as most people don’t particularly enjoy settling into a new home the way I do, it may not be effective for everyone.

So why change? 

Well, the obvious answer is twofold.  First, it’s easy to get stuck in a rut. To find ourselves in a place that worked at one time, and doesn’t any more. The second is that famous definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over and expecting a new result.

We often want new results.  (at least, I know I do!) That implies that new – or more – actions are required.   

It’s said that creating a new habit takes 21 days.  That doesn’t sound like a lot, right?  And yet, if 21 days is so short, it makes me wonder about that extrapolated failure statistic of 80%-92%. That’s a lot of people who fail in their new years resolutions!

I guess the real question is about what we want. When we set a new resolution, are we setting it for the right reasons?  Do we really desire the change – whether it’s better health or a new body, advancement in business or work, or personal growth – or is it just pretty and shiny over there?

I remember complaining about something as a teenager.  While I don’t recall the topic of the complaint, I do recall my mother’s response.  It was her usual “it’s an opportunity to grow”.  I hated that response, and on this occasion replied “I’m sick of growing. I’d like to stagnate for a while.”  It’s likely that she wasn’t overly impressed with my response (she now finds it funny), and she was right. 

The law of inertia (Newton’s first law) postulates that if a body is at rest or moving at a constant speed in a straight line, it will remain at rest or keep moving in a straight line at constant speed unless it is acted upon by a force.  She knew – and I didn’t, at that point – that inertia would leave me vulnerable to an outside force, which might not be either positive or of my control.  She was right.

If we want to effect change in our own lives, we need to be moving forward of our own volition, rather than carried along – or stagnant – with inertia. 

So my question to you is this: what are you doing to affect your own forward movement in 2021, whatever direction you choose?  I’ve set a few small goals for myself, and I’m proud to say that I’ve taken some initial steps in one, and am successfully on day 6 of another.  We’ll see how those transpire over the next couple of weeks.  

Where are you moving forward in 2021?