Wonder Anew
The Magic of Fresh Takes
Here we go!
The magic of a new year has got to be in all the possibilities for new beginnings, right?
Potential can easily overwhelm, however. Those of us starting the year with resolutions, promises, big hopes and bigger dreams are vulnerable to freeze in the face of too many “coulda-shouldas.”
As much as I love a reboot, I am trying for a saner pace this time around, in the vein of last week’s commitment to calm persistence.
I’ve written previously of my intention to try a 12-week year. That means starting NOW with new, hopefully sustainable work-life rhythms for the next three months. I’ve planned work times, rest times, and “buffer times” (for checking email, walking the dog, and emptying the dishwasher). I have some short-ish term deadlines that should hold my feet to my plan’s fire. But I confess to a whole lot of self-doubt.
So, last week, I attempted to get ahead in a ploy to pre-meet my first benchmark. Could I game a new system before even starting? Did it work?
Well, I did something. And it got me wondering.
After unapologetically allowing myself to call most of the December holiday season a buffer time — for managing communications, packages, visitors, unpredictable days — I emerged into what some people called a “dead week lull” And with the quiet, came the fear: I didn’t want to fail in week one of my New Year’s plan. That’s exactly what intentional planning attempts to allay.
But with lingering houseguests, celebrations mid-week, new books and overdue ones, and a stockpile of snack foods (cheese, cheese, and more cheese! plus crackers), I needed a way into my work and goals beyond a checklist and a calendar.
Cue wonder. Nothing big, just small moments that offered diversion from outsized EXPECTATION:
The sun came out after days of rain. Instead of restlessly circling my computer unable to focus, I wondered - could I sit? Imagine something? The light invited me into fresh perspective.
We needed to get out of the house early one Tuesday. I wondered - could I seize the day and spontaneously to take both my kids and work out to breakfast? I did, and enjoyed the passage of time rather than measuring it against myself.
I wondered if I really could start with creativity instead of productivity on my first quiet morning, then reveled in the puzzling, imagining, meandering day that emerged.
Without pushing, I almost met my goal.
Naturally, interruptions interrupted. That story never ends. But I remembered to enjoy the process, to “what if” and play.
In and of itself, that may be my key to the next three months. My plan says to work first, buffer later. Perhaps I really mean play first, wonder first, work smart, and let later take care of itself. I’m still a little fuzzy on the details.
I do know we need to hold our plans loosely. I found something of a magic recipe from a collective poem in The Ann Friedman Weekly and I can’t get out of my head:
“Every day is a new year”
Every day.
So, Happy New Year! Let’s wake up - breathe in a fresh take - find the wonder - start anew - calmly persist. That’s the magic.
Cheers!
