Out With the Old

What you choose to leave in the past is equally important as what you choose as intentions for the future.

What you choose to leave in the past is equally important as what you choose as intentions for the future.

January brings much talk about resolutions, vision boards, and plotting courses for the year ahead. What is much less mentioned is to consider what you consciously elect to leave in the past, and how to release what no longer serves you.

An intention of abundance and opportunity is stymied if worry and impatience carry over. An intention of self-improvement will not bear fruit if selfishness and materialism accompany it. An intention of better health is thwarted if you are commitment averse.  An intention of improving relationships will not be feasible if the focus does not include the acceptance of your own shortcomings.

Before you can welcome in any intention or meaningful change, a release must precede it. And therein is why so many resolutions fail so soon after being uttered.

A scooter can get you from one place to another, but if the destination is now across a lake without bridges, the scooter no longer serves you. You may sincerely want to get across the lake and take some actionable steps on your own. Maybe you attempt to see how deep into the water the scooter will take you. Or you try a different scooter. The journey across the lake ends there, unless you release the idea of the scooter. Yes, it may have got you this far but that does not mean it will suffice to travel in these uncharted waters. Releasing the scooter allows you to see a new way of existing, and the varying routes it takes: the boaters, kayakers, paddleboarders, and swimmers. You see a new way forward and begin on the path to arriving at your pre-determined destination. A welcome only possible because of a release.

All of us have flaws and attributes that hold us back. Similarly, all of us have strengths and characteristics that drive us forward. This push/pull dynamic is intrinsic to being human. No one wants to dwell on the parts of ourselves we are not so proud of. But the failure to do just that limits our own potential. We must spend the time to not only identify our flaws, but to see how we can adapt and transform. Staying stagnant while the wheel of time churns benefits no one, least of all ourselves.

Identify your goals, your intentions, the future you want. Now pause. Reflect on what internal aspects are a hindrance to that vision. What must be released? Or transmuted? What are the steps you must undertake to achieve release and transmutation?

Identification is only the first step. Knowing your shortcomings and doing something about it are two different things. Accepting that a scooter is insufficient does not get you any farther across the lake. However, releasing the scooter and learning how to paddleboard and where to obtain the equipment will.

As the saying goes, “Out with the old, in with the new.” The sequence matters, the timing does not. Whether it is January, July, or December, it is never too late to release and welcome in.

The lake is waiting.