Two decades, even two centuries, are just one tick of a clock apart.
Even though this gap is purely imaginary, we all embrace its
symbolism and actual importance. In Colombia, people may run around the house
or block carrying a full suitcase to invoke a year of many travels. The Danes jump
for a chair to leap into a year of good luck. When I was young, we jumped at
the strike of midnight to grow taller.
International risk consultant and bestselling author David
Ropeik asserts that the significance we all ascribe to the New Year is connected
to the greatest human motivation: the will to survive.
We mark January 1 as a time to start living healthier, i.e., quit
smoking, avoid unhealthy food, exercise more, sleep early. We also re-connect with friends
and relatives and offer or ask for forgiveness. Ropeik affirms that having good
relationships has always been a wise survival strategy.
Below are some of the things I do before the new year. Maybe
some of them will be relevant for you, too. They are survival strategies and
may help us have a more meaningful, better-enjoyed life.
1.
Protect
and organize family pics and videos. Family records are our most important possessions.
If we lose them, we can’t get one from any store. No amount of money can bring
them back.
2.
De-clutter.
We accumulate too many unnecessary things in 12 months. The totally useless
things don’t deserve another day in our room or workspace.
3.
Journal
seriously. Re-visit the checklist you made in the beginning of this year
and have a checklist for the coming year. Is there a vlog or blog you have not
started? A cooking lesson you have completely forgotten to enroll in? Any other
unfinished business?
4.
Re-connect.
You surely have an uncle or aunt who thinks you don’t even remember they exist.
Some of your friends think you have become too successful to comment on their
social media.
5.
Commit to
a healthier lifestyle. This is non-negotiable. Schedule that important health
checkup first week of next year. Non-negotiable.
6.
Make
family memories. Non-negotiable.
7.
Give
yourself a second chance. Dreams are shattered, opportunities are missed,
days are wasted, hearts are broken, mistakes are made and lives are messed up.
But in that one tick of a clock between two decades, a life can begin again.
Read :
Get Ready for 2020
With These Fascinating New Year’s History Facts by Hannah Jeon on the GH website.
Why We celebrate New
Year’s Day by David Ropeik on the Psychology
Today website
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