Let the New Year commence!
It’s time for the resolutions.
For the last… I really don’t know how long – maybe 20 years?… - I have lived according to the following New Year Resolutions:
Learn something new
Go somewhere new
Try something new
It has been an incredibly effective resolution. It has bypassed fads, circumvented diets, and helped me to consistently explore both myself and the world around me.
Learn something new. This has been the cornerstone of everything else I have built my life upon. Learning. I truly believe it is the basis upon which humanity is based (which is why I became a teacher). Sometimes it has been a language (I learned Spanish and bits of Russian after I came back through Russia and Spain during my time in Japan), sometimes it has been a skill or talent (and I owe my love of guitar to this, as well as rock climbing and backpacking). At its core, this resolution encompasses the mental growth of the individual. Who we are is never cast in stone, and as a result, only those who have intentionally chosen to stagnate can’t use this resolution as an opportunity to take a course on-line or go back to school. This is a specific goal, though, beyond trying something. It involves actively engaging the brain: Learn a language; Learn a specific technique in a skill; Go back to school… whatever it is, take a period of time and just improve your mind!
Go somewhere new. Okay, I admit that 2018 and 2019 give me an advantage here. After December 19, 2018, literally EVERYWHERE I go is new. I will not tell a lie: I looked at 2018 and laughed a little when I thought about this particular resolution. I not only went to a new place, I went to a new country, a new continent, and a new hemisphere (only two continents now elude my list… and I’ve got a lot of time remaining…). Still, it isn’t distance that makes this such an important resolution. I firmly believe that only through travel does one truly become aware of the human condition, the base understanding of human existence. Fortunately for me, we chose to take part of our time in this part of the world to visit New Zealand, so I get to double-check this particular box.
Try something new. This is the open-ended opportunity of the resolutions. It could include a skill, it could include an opportunity not taken before… or it could include something completely different. This is beyond “learn to surf” or “visit Bondi Bech”… it becomes the elusive opportunity that few recognize. “Visit a mountain that has been burning for 4000 years” might be an example, or “explore a city you’ve never visited before”… This is where you get a chance to move beyond the norm, beyond the expected. “Take care of a pool”, for example, while not something I would normally do, isn’t quite in-line with this resolution. It needs to be more. “Live in a foreign culture” would work, for example, though this exchange moves things into an entirely new realm… Really, this resolution is about moving beyond your comfort zone.
I firmly believe that who we are is entirely based upon who we choose to be. I have chosen to be an international explorer. I have even introduced my children to this because I believe in the absolute depths of my soul that this – the idea that we can learn about ourselves through the exploration of other cultures – is the future of our collective existence.
So… what are your resolutions this year?
It’s time for the resolutions.
For the last… I really don’t know how long – maybe 20 years?… - I have lived according to the following New Year Resolutions:
Learn something new
Go somewhere new
Try something new
It has been an incredibly effective resolution. It has bypassed fads, circumvented diets, and helped me to consistently explore both myself and the world around me.
Learn something new. This has been the cornerstone of everything else I have built my life upon. Learning. I truly believe it is the basis upon which humanity is based (which is why I became a teacher). Sometimes it has been a language (I learned Spanish and bits of Russian after I came back through Russia and Spain during my time in Japan), sometimes it has been a skill or talent (and I owe my love of guitar to this, as well as rock climbing and backpacking). At its core, this resolution encompasses the mental growth of the individual. Who we are is never cast in stone, and as a result, only those who have intentionally chosen to stagnate can’t use this resolution as an opportunity to take a course on-line or go back to school. This is a specific goal, though, beyond trying something. It involves actively engaging the brain: Learn a language; Learn a specific technique in a skill; Go back to school… whatever it is, take a period of time and just improve your mind!
Go somewhere new. Okay, I admit that 2018 and 2019 give me an advantage here. After December 19, 2018, literally EVERYWHERE I go is new. I will not tell a lie: I looked at 2018 and laughed a little when I thought about this particular resolution. I not only went to a new place, I went to a new country, a new continent, and a new hemisphere (only two continents now elude my list… and I’ve got a lot of time remaining…). Still, it isn’t distance that makes this such an important resolution. I firmly believe that only through travel does one truly become aware of the human condition, the base understanding of human existence. Fortunately for me, we chose to take part of our time in this part of the world to visit New Zealand, so I get to double-check this particular box.
Try something new. This is the open-ended opportunity of the resolutions. It could include a skill, it could include an opportunity not taken before… or it could include something completely different. This is beyond “learn to surf” or “visit Bondi Bech”… it becomes the elusive opportunity that few recognize. “Visit a mountain that has been burning for 4000 years” might be an example, or “explore a city you’ve never visited before”… This is where you get a chance to move beyond the norm, beyond the expected. “Take care of a pool”, for example, while not something I would normally do, isn’t quite in-line with this resolution. It needs to be more. “Live in a foreign culture” would work, for example, though this exchange moves things into an entirely new realm… Really, this resolution is about moving beyond your comfort zone.
I firmly believe that who we are is entirely based upon who we choose to be. I have chosen to be an international explorer. I have even introduced my children to this because I believe in the absolute depths of my soul that this – the idea that we can learn about ourselves through the exploration of other cultures – is the future of our collective existence.
So… what are your resolutions this year?