Keeping the old me in the new year
I'm as guilty as anyone of treating the end of the year and the coming new year as a radical transition from old to new habits. December 31st becomes the focal point of everything that's wrong in our lives, while January 1st signifies the birth of our ideal self, when everything will be different and better. I've felt this many times. Besides, the end of November, as we are now, is also usually the time when people are claiming for this transition. They're fed up with the events of the year and want the new one to arrive now, in order to refresh their lives. They're in a hurry: "Enough of 20xx, let's get to 20xx already!"
This year I have such a different mindset that I find it interesting how it is to not identify with all the conversations and memes going around about it. Instead of looking forward to what I'm going to do next year, I'm excited to keep doing what I've been doing now. There are habits I've started this year, habits that haven't always been consistent or even easy, but I have the proof that I can do them, the proof that they're doable. I'm always excited about new things, for sure, but this time my brain is confident that they'll most likely come if I carry on with things that aren't new at all. 1
I'm not here to shame anyone who is waiting for the new year to do things right. As I've already said, I've done it many times. But I'm interested in how, for me, this year, the change of the clock from 23:59 (or 11:59) to 00:00 on New Year's Eve will be as emotionally ordinary as those that happen on any other day of the year. If 2024 is just an extension of 2023, I think I'll be fine.
My feelings may also have to do with the fact that I recently (or, to be more precise, today) finished a two-week vacation, in which I rested for a few days and also took a fantastic trip (which I'll probably post about it here as well). Many people here in the southern hemisphere also associate the new year with summer vacations and proper rest.↩