20/20 Vision
Erasing the moment before can lead to missing out in the present
Photo by Shreyas Nadkar on Unsplash
Happy New Year!
I am writing this during the vote count in Washington D.C... No political discussion is going to happen here--just sharing the context as sit at my keyboard and reflect on a more universal phenomenon in the world: the way we treat the passing of a year. I found myself being challenged to double down on an opportunity, with this question:
What if we break with one of our most widely held new year's traditions?
Time after time, many of us welcome the new year by banishing the year before.
"Good riddance!" "Done!" "So over..."
We celebrate a separation between the two years, as if creating a separation gives us the advantage of a fresh start.
But WHAT IF the actual advantage is accepting and embracing that our new year is a CONTINUATION of the year before? What if, by standing on the shoulders of the year before, we give ourselves a HEAD START?
What??? I know, that sounds BONKERS--but consider this: living the new year with the experience of having lived the previous one can allow us to see where we are with refreshed and wiser eyes, to imagine something different and set ourselves on a brand new path.
I don't mean that 2021 is an extended remix of 2020. Rather, instead of banishing 2020, we look for what we can BUILD with it.
We are trading in a halfway fresh start for a whole head start, and it feels good.
We asked ourselves, "Given where we've been and where we are, where do we want to go?" We dug deep to choose our direction and identify what we wish to be a part of in the world.
This year at EmpowerSpeak and LMH, we are focusing on: peace, empathy, and unity
What do you want for you and for the world in THIS MOMENT?
We see the possibilities for 2021 and we are not going to wait.
Coming up, you'll see from us more ways to:
Deepen awareness
Build courage
Bridge understanding
Generate acceptance
Extend compassion
Include with grace
Have healthy conversations
Support the greater good, each other, and ourselves
Sustain individual and collective wellbeing
Live with joy
We will continue to reach high, take risks, and learn from our mistakes. We are stronger, clearer and more determined because of 2020.
We thank 2020 for the insight and incredible motivation to take our next steps. We are cheering you on too, as you take yours. Let's keep heart, keep faith, and keep walking forward together.
Wishing you a happy, healthy head start in 2021.