Fresh starts

The new year makes for the perfect time to consider yourself. Where you’ve been, what you want to accomplish. A lot of us make resolutions around this time. And a lot of us will note that most resolutions don’t last.

“New year, new you,” the slogans go.

But we aren’t new, are we? The past comes with us whether we want it to or not. And that’s all right. We don’t all have to be new. We don’t have to reinvent ourselves. As this next year passes, we’ll change, because it’s inevitable. We always will.

But we shouldn’t change for change’s sake. Novelty is attractive, but it’s only a sheen. When it’s gone, we’re left with what it glossed over. That can be a good thing—a comfy chair we’ve made a groove in—or, well. It can not.

As always, this advice is worth what you pay for it. But it’s something I’m going to try, too. There’s things I’d like to change. Parts of my routine, things that I don’t particularly enjoy, new habits I want to build. But I want to change how I look at change.

The years come and go. But I’m always still here. So instead of focusing on change, I’m going to think about how I’d like to grow. Because growth is change. There’s no revolution here. There’s no real insight, either. More like a touch of cognitive-behavioral therapy. (I did study a lot of semiotics in college, after all.) But it’s a new way of considering things, for me.

And besides. New is always better, isn’t it?