On Reinvention and Other Things New

Welcome to 2015.

Here's what I hope your 2014 was like:

You broke something
You fixed something.

You lost something
But you found something else.

You learned a new skill
You learned something new about yourself
You learned something new about someone you love.

You made a mistake...
...But you learned from it.

You made at least one new friend.
You got more selective about who you label "friend".

You got knocked down
You got back up
You got knocked down again
And you still got back up.

I experienced all of the above in 2014, and some of it was not fun. But I think I came out on the other side better for it. That's why I sincerely wish it for you.

Now, to be sure, we can absolutely change directions, work on a new project, or improve something within our lives on any day of the year. But there's something about us and the calendar, the seasons, and the way the stars line up at the changing of the year. It has pushed and pulled inside of us, unexplainably, for as long as there's been an "us."

So I say, embrace that natural momentum the world gives us right now, when the New Year looks us square in the eyes to ask, "What's next for you? Will this year be a year you grow? Or will this be a 12-month, no-change, business-as-usual, snooze-fest?"

Now is the time of the year to choose a big goal or two, and run after them hard. Out-of-breath-hard.

This is the part where we reinvent ourselves.