The New Year was knocking at her door...

 

“New... What is new, really?”

Her body was getting older and older. The same was true of her house, her shoes, her cell phone, and everything she owned.

The same for her relatives, neighbors, and everyone she knew.

Because everything and everyone felt old, new things no longer touched her heart or her mind. Not even the New Year... just something people fabricated.

For the past ten years, it had been the same - some kind of rejection. She had even thought of covering all the mirrors in her apartment so she would not have to see her ugly, old face. Of course, there were no calendars in the house either...

One day, as she was preparing herself to do a few tasks, the doorbell rang. Strange... for some time now, she had not received a visitor who hadn’t called beforehand.

“Who is there?”

No response.

Well, the easy solution was to avoid it, so she simply didn’t open the door.

As the New Year drew closer, she noticed that the knocking at her door was becoming more persistent, more frequent. She thought of calling the police - but what for?

Right at midnight... almost midnight... on the last day of the year, the knocking on the door came again - this time very forcefully. It sounded as if it were about to break down the door.

Scared, but determined not to lose her door, she went and opened it.

And there it was: a little girl, smiling sweetly at her.

“Hello!”

Well, after so much “drama,” a simple “hello” wouldn’t do.

“You have been knocking at my door all these days! What do you want, young lady?”

“Well, I had to, don’t you see? I am the New Year...”

A crazy girl...

“Come with me.” She extended her small, gentle hands toward the old lady. “Come to the New Year.”

She was really scared now.

“I know you are scared, and that is not my intention. But if anyone in the world refuses to enter the New Year, then it is my job to come and take them. That is why I am here.”

She moved her hand closer to the old lady...

“Listen, it will be beautiful - I know that... and terrifying too!” She giggled a little. “However, it is already like that for you, right? So the New Year will be just a change of a number. By accepting it in your heart, at least it will be accompanied by some hope.”

This time, the old woman listened more attentively. She saw that it was useless to resist, and at last she gave her hand to the little girl.

It felt like a whirlpool, and for a few moments she felt elated - so happy, like never before.

And then it was over.

The door was in its original position. There was no sign of the little girl.

After some time, she sat down and decided to celebrate quietly.

The New Year.

The end of the old year.

The beginning of hope.

Does the year really change?

 

What is change, really? It means something is different than before.

A river changes its course or composition, a tree grows, animals go through the cycle of life, and humans…

We, humans…?

With humans, things are more complex. We could say we change according to our age or our career. It can be that our change was just esthetical or ethical, we change our perception about other people or even an experience of past.

Then we come to the change of the year… We all know the year does not really change; it is just a perception or a system invented by us. In fact, the Chinese New Year, is a few weeks later and a big part of humankind will celebrate THAT New Year, not the December, 31^st one…

It means that although the year does not change and nothing changes with the year, it changes… in our minds.

And there are 3 things to explore and have a better change of year:

• The new year is a big opportunity. The things you couldn’t do before, the things you dream and those you don’t dream, all can happen this year.
• Training and education. To make those opportunities real there is a need in terms of training. The change curve is quite steep nowadays for anything, even the harmless objects at home, particularly with AI’s invading the day-to-day life. So, understand the opportunities being opened with this new year and what qualities or competencies you will need to harvest them, and plan your education process.
• Resources… Yes, you will need resources to really take advantage of anything emerging with the new year. Besides the physical wealth that will help to get a proper education, there are also intangible resources, such as peace, courage and enthusiasm. Words of wisdom from a close friend or relative and the millions of videos, books, lectures, workshops, seminars, etc. that promote wellness or self-improvement, work like gold too.

This new year, identify the opportunities and dreams you want to fulfill and live, educate and train yourself to achieve them, and trust the invisible resources within you. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

When I asked for the year to not change, a tale

 

I finished the letter and sent, via email. My guess was:

NewYear@universe.time

 

With total certainty, I was sure the email would reach its destination and my request was very simple…

YEAR, DON’T CHANGE!

 

I have been tired of so many changes… When I was young, the worse of a year changing was to avoid writing the wrong year in a check or a letter. But, nowadays…

There will be a new president somewhere who is probably going to change many things. Besides, AI is evolving… And the economy… Society… My friends and family… Me…

YEAR, DON’T CHANGE!

I want everything as it is right now… NO CHANGES, PLEASE!

 

And yet, I know…

… Well, the email bounced back.

… Things will change anyway…

So, what to do?

Maybe… maybe if I change, other changes won’t affect me that much. OK, I am still hopeful things may not change so dramatically, but I want to try this…

 

I want to try to change myself. Would you like to be my friend in this?

The day the New Year did not come

And one day, the new year didn’t come…

 

Millions and millions of people were just waiting, but the new year didn’t come, causing havoc, chaos and distress all over the world.

December 32^nd was here! And 33^rd, 34^th… Well, it was quite strange and some people took the initiative to try and reset the calendar, but others wouldn’t accept, a new reason for polarization.

FBI, CIA, INTERPOL, ABIN and many more organizations started to look for the New Year, following clues, but without any success. And time was passing… until people has forgotten about the new year and accepted this extended year.

 

When all went calm, a very young person showed up somewhere. He was looking at the horizon, appreciating the sun setting again and enjoying the moment.

Even though he was supposed to be working, by replacing his old co-worker, he decided he wouldn’t do it. After all, what was the point? So many like him have come before and all of them ended very old, bitter and disillusioned. In fact, his decision was taken on the way to his office when he had the chance to see the one he was replacing…

No way! He wouldn’t allow himself to get drawn by that; after all, he was the symbol of novelty and change, the embodiment of hope and renovation.

But he sighed… he knew he couldn’t post-pone it forever.

He just wanted people to be more aware of his importance, to take advantage of his presence and to transform themselves.

After many hours, he closed his eyes already tired, but he took his things and he went to office.

Next day, the new year started… Maybe with hope this time.

 

Are you ready to change? What do you need to make this new year a year of hope, renovation and novelty?

For the New Year, these are my resolutions

I will keep living, even though my health is not so good. Life for me is more than breathing; it is creating, reflecting, helping others and building something.

I will keep my honesty, no matter what. It is too easy to lie, but I know its price; maybe it is difficult to be truthful, but I know its value.

I am doing exercises, every day. In my mind, I train my thoughts. In my body, I train my breath. In my wealth, I try my self-control. In my relationships, I train my eyes to wear “seeing-good-things glasses”.

I will keep meditating, deeply or in a light way. It is part of my routine and I keep it in my awareness.

I am serving… Service is my life; service is the most important thing in my mind, and service fills my mind with enthusiasm.

 

What are your resolutions this time?

In this month, I will…

Yes, resolutions are for the new year, but what about one month in particular? I was thinking a lot about December, since it will be different for me in comparison with other years, and here are some points I will keep in my awareness for this month:

Every day a door opens for something new to happen.

All changes start from within.

When I want something to happen, I need focus and the right set of thoughts.

It is time to do new experiments!

There are many lights this month; let me focus on others’ lights.

Even though there is a profound and a bit chaotic materialistic energy, I will go for the spiritual side of everything.

Do you want to join me?

Walking and moving on…

It's another year and you're still out there... walking and following...

I remember one of my favorite Brazilian songs, Tocando em frente, particularly a few verses:

Penso que cumprir a vida – I think to fulfill life

Seja simplesmente – It is just a question of

Compreender a marcha – Understanding the walk

E ir tocando em frente – And move along

Perhaps we have had fantastic and exotic dreams.

Maybe we had fabulous plans.

It may be that the route we have designed was different from the one we follow today.

And yes, a lot of whom we are today is not exactly what we envisioned.

But this is the path we are on and if we look closely, we will see something…

We will see the possibility of having new dreams and planning something new.

We will notice the landscape of our life, what a beautiful landscape that every day greets us and takes leave from us.

And the reality we are, we really are, is exactly the best of ourselves.

Keep walking…

New Year 4 – Implementation…

So, you have New Year's goals or resolutions, some objectives or a long-term vision...

Besides, you recognize that you have to develop a few qualities to fulfill all this and...

EMPOWER YOURSELF! The fundamental thing for this to take place.

And now just ... DO IT!

When it comes to implementing, the best plans end up being changed or simply do not work, so here you have some tips for their implementation; for this purpose, I will be calling New Year's goals, objectives or resolutions as a plan:

• Keep the plan in writing to guide you.
• Do it step by step, date by date. You can use tools such as a scheduler or send you an email scheduled for a specific day.
• Do it slowly and fast... That is, meditate, reflect or contemplate before each step, but do not stop.
• Before making any changes to your plan, reflect deeply, something you can do even as you talk to someone who can actually cooperate with you.
• Celebrate every victory, it doesn’t matter its size.
• Transform every defeat into a lesson and an opportunity for improvement.

New Year 3 – Self-empowerment...

You may not know, but the reason you fail to fulfill your purest and highest resolutions for this new year is that you lack power.

Power is what makes you overcome the different barriers that life usually places on us. It is therefore important that you generate a routine of self-empowerment. I share mine as an example:

• Every day I wake up to experience raja yoga meditation for almost an hour. Meditation may not be your thing, but there are several things you can do such as praying, reflecting or walking in the middle of nature, with a clear purpose.
• A short while later, I study daily; it is a spiritual class which objective is to give me elements to change my life and live it better. Instead of receiving news, usually bad, focus on receiving a knowledge that uplifts you.
• During the day, I meditate and reflect on the daily class or other similar sources of knowledge; it is important for me to maintain this state of consciousness. Looking for the continuous flow of knowledge that uplifts you is fundamental in your work, even doing breaks for your self-improvement.
• An important thing I found out and included in my routine is to serve others in some way. Volunteer service generates an enormous amount of power.
• Finally, I OBSERVE MYSELF DAILY; I see what I could change and find out what I couldn't. Self-observation, even if it is not followed up with decisions or changes, may transform reality.

New Year 2 – Qualifications…

OK, so you have your goals set and now, what? It is time to make it real!

But, before that, a particular reflection is necessary:

• What qualities do you require to fulfill your goals, qualities without which you cannot do it?
• Which qualities will help you to fulfill your goals, even though they are not mandatory?
• How are you going to develop those qualities?

Qualities maybe values, virtues or even inner powers; they will enable you to fulfill your goals. Without those qualities, you will struggle to fulfil your aims in life.

So, make a plan on how to get those qualities, by responding the three questions above and good luck!

New Year 1 – Goals...

Instead of thinking that reality will simply SHOW UP, why not taking advantage of this motivational moment of change of year to set goals?

You will become the designer of your own new year... Don't you find it interesting and... motivator?

It can be and it is very easy:

Think about what you want to achieve this year. Create a list from these thoughts, prioritizing according to your own criteria (how easy it is, its importance, etc.).

Check the list very well, joining what can be joined, avoiding paradoxes and polishing your ideas a little.

Now, answer for each item: when will I achieve this? How will I do it? What resources will I need? What changes do I need to make for this?

As the above questions can take time, the suggestion is to complete item by item.

Finally, schedule the different points that you have to work using some technological tool (such as GCal) or a normal agenda planner.

 

So, are you ready to be the architect of your existence?

What??? DECEMBER!

Yes, we are at December… It has come! Or almost.

And it is that magical time in which years converge, but for human mind it is not only years, it is much more…

There is a convergence of possibilities and opportunities.

Experiences and chances of success.

That transformation you have been dreaming so much and it seems so far away – now it is the moment to get that!

For the next two months, many people, particularly those with an interest on personal change, deep personal change, will be trying to change their routes in life. You, me and many people.

And do you know what? Let’s take advantage of this month and the next, go for that deep change and that will be the best gift we could receive in life.

 

Old, new…

The old year just finished for you, but how do you intend to make the New Year… new?

Because, you know, things will be almost the same: same job, same family, some complicated neighbor and some very nice neighbor.

Your personality will be same and I am sure your tastes too!

You hair style may change, but not your hair… You can change the fashion of your clothes, but not the reasons to dress…

It is possible there will be new rulers over the same people, the same country, the same possibilities and problems.

So, where is the new part of the New Year?

Maybe when you go to work, interact with your family or neighbors you make the best effort to see them with new glasses, to avoid old types of thoughts and to send them the most beautiful energy you have in your heart.

Instead of trying to change your external appearance, why don’t you try to change your internal appearance? You can try a new attitude towards others or bring the best of yourself into your day-to-day life.

In fact, don’t need to try, just do it! Because you really can!

And the last thing, why don’t you try to be your own leader? In this way, no matter who is in the position of a ruler, your life and other people’s lives will take full benefit of the great person you are.

When the end of the year is the end… A tale

What would happen if this year was the last year of my life?

A retired man decided to think like that for the whole year, since January, 1^st; every act, every word and even every thought had the energy of this is the end.

Every time he went for shopping or just for a walk, that thought was present: what would happen…

Gradually, his behavior changed according to his thoughts and he started to buy less and less. He also stopped wasting his time and he endeavor for EVERY SECOND of his life to be useful.

He started to talk with people he didn’t hear for years and he forgave… Oh, he forgave so many people!

He also asked forgiveness and appreciated others much more. He started to open his hearts to others, greeting acquaintances and smiling to unknown people.

By the end of the year, he realized he was having the best time of his life. He felt so light and yet so confident… He even studied something, even though he thought he couldn’t learn anything anymore!

When the year came to an end – and he noticed his life will continue – he reflected while looking at a beautiful starred sky.

What would happen if this year was the last year of my life?

And a new year started for him!

Almost there… the end of the year!

Before coming to the end of the year, what about stop and reflect a bit about what is going on…

A few points may help you with that:

If this year would be my last year on Earth, what am I taking with me?

If this year would be my first year on Earth, what have I learnt that was completely new?

Think of the memories I am carrying with myself…

Think of the memories I am definitely not carrying, and how am I going to dispose those?

What has been the main development in the self – a quality, an inner power, a talent – that will be very useful for next year?

What has been the main realization I had and how to keep on living that realization next year?

Who was the person I was able to have a powerful conversation and with which results?

Who was the person I could not have a powerful conversation and how to do it next year?

If I could come back from twenty years ahead and could give an advice to my present self, which advice will it be?

If I could travel back several years before and could give an advice to the then present self, which advice will be?

By having this this couple by your side, your change will be successful

When life is moving along according to plans, you just need to dance… Life is often a performance and of course, we would enjoy it greatly.

But, many times the rhythm changes and the music you don’t love starts to play… Fights... Arguments… Betrayals… Losing a job… Broccoli…

And yet, you can’t stop dancing as life doesn’t end with one song. You have to keep on dancing…

For that, the best is to count with a wonderful couple who will be along with you, partners in this dynamic dance.

On one hand hold on to patience and let your life feels like a living experience of bliss.

On the other hand, hold on to perseverance and never stop trying…

When you are dancing forever, obstacles come: sometimes you may get disheartened and other times, others get disheartened in relation to you. Patience gives you certainty that if you have been sowing the right seeds, at some point good crops will come up. In this way, patience motivates you to not give up.

However, many times the outcome of your acts will take too long to emerge; perseverance enables you to not give up and keep on trying. But being perseverant is much more than being stubborn – real perseverance will make you check the self and understand what is going on as many (most of the) times it is because of you that things are not taking place as they should.

And that is the formula for success, especially when you are promoting a change: be patient and perseverant.

 

This post is part of a series for a better year, and this is the end, so I wish you good luck with this wonderful year!

The art of trusting the self

Do you really want to change things? Really?

You do know you can’t, right? Remember when you tried that summer? It didn’t work! You can’t change things, they are what they are!!!

 

This is an inner dialogue performed inside our mind so many times that for many of us, self-confidence in relation to promote changes is very slippery.

And yet, if you really want to have a wonderful year – you do want that, right? – self-confidence is the most important thing to develop, probably before anything else and there is a particular reason for it.

Self-confidence enables you to trust your decisions and to perform well even when your actions are against odds. Particularly when you are in a change process generated by yourself, it is very easy to fall back to the comfort zone or to copy other people, and either of these options may make your change process fails.

 

So, let’s talk about how to overcome the wonderful temptation of our comfort zone…

It is really not that comfortable, but it gives a false sense of security and stability since even bad things are known and you learn how to bear. Breaking out the comfort zone means to go out in the wild and maybe it will not be a pleasant experience; but it could be wonderful.

The trick to overcome the attraction is to increase the personal capacity; in this way, you feel confidence you can go out there and be successful. Think: what could you be doing differently if you really believe in yourself?

This post is part of a series for a better year. Good luck!

 

A basic instinct whilst changing is to try and copy other people who have gone through a similar process and there is nothing wrong about it, after all if somebody was able to make things work, why can’t you just go and replicate their development?

This brings me a memory from my school: two guys tried to get top marks by copying every movement of the most intelligent guy there, including going to sleep early… I guess I don’t need to tell you their experiment failed miserably.

You cannot really copy others, because you are very different, but you can take ideas, be inspired and motivated by someone else’s success, you can even duplicate their effort. Remember that you are what you are, however you can adapt their success into your life.

In this case, the best thing is to talk with those people or to try and see what works with you, discarding whatever is not working and improving whatever you can improve.

 

You are the leader of yourself, who is generating a change that will impact many others. Good luck!

This post is part of a series for a better year...

To letting go and to let it flow

What is life? A swimming pool or the ocean?

Several years ago I heard that comparison; the person who used it told a group of us how he was an excellent swimmer… in a pool.

As he comes from a surfing country, he thought it would be very, very easy for him to surfing, but when he was out there, he realized he was doing everything different than the rest of guys and his experience was not nice. After all, the ocean is not a swimming pool.

And the main difference is the sense of control that is present in the pool and absent in the sea.

Many decades later, I remember that example to help me understand what is going on in the world right now…

 

I am in the middle of sea, after being in a swimming pool for quite a while. I have lost my sense of control and I feel I am at the mercy of the big and omnipotent ocean called life.

But then, I become a surfer… Instead of trying to control the sea, I use strategy, intuition and wisdom to find a way to flow with the waves.

However, I must go to the beginning and need to let go of the shore. In the case of a swimming pool, the shore is just there, at hand; but in the sea, it is far away. I let go of my past and present, things I like and dislike, hopes and expectations. I just let go.

I let go of my support, my comfort, maybe my personality or my way of thinking and behaving.

I let go and I flow, feeling the wonder of being a master of my own life, a leader of the self.

 

By letting go, I may flow, and this way I turn this year into a wonderful adventure.

 

This post is part of a series for a better year. Good luck!

Step 1…

We are just starting to live a new year, so this is a time for a transition.

That means you are probably so busy celebrating (with mask and all) that you are not thinking much about the remaining 362 days or so, and yet this is the right time to start thinking of it.

Consider these first days as the first step to have a MUCH BETTER year and here are three suggestions, which are stages of this first step:

• To let go – the first part of this step is to let go not only the bad things, but even the good things. You need space to generate a new experience, and to start from a blank mental whiteboard is the best option.
• Trust yourself – this is the part in which you design the New Year and you have a style that is completely different than mine, your spouse’s, children’s, neighbors’, mother-in-law’s and anybody… Let your ideas flow by brainstorming, using creative methods like journaling or just sitting down and reflecting. The basis of this stage is to trust your inner voice and maybe you want to use this powerful question: What are the ways to be successful this year?
• Perseverance & patience – you will need this couple of virtues this year. On one hand, perseverance will help you to put all those beautiful ideas into reality. On the other hand, patience will help you to trust yourself and wait…

 

In the next posts, I will get into each of these stages, but you probably would like to start something. Good luck!

Farewell!

And the year is gone… almost… time to say goodbye…

To those people we are not going to see anymore. We say goodbye by remembering their legacy and keeping the good memories.

To those people who changed so much… We say goodbye to their old ways by embracing and accepting their new form of being.

To those objects and places, things and circumstances that won’t be part of our lives anymore. We say goodbye by showing gratitude for every experience.

To the old normality… We say goodbye to so many ways we used to have to relate to each other, work, commute and many other big and little things we used to live, by being open to the new normality and adapt as much as possible.

To the old self, as we have changed so much! We say goodbye to the skills we are not going to use again, the habits we can’t use anymore and so many other factors that used to define the "I", by making effort and invest time in the new self that is just being born.

Farewell old year, people, things and normality! Farewell old self!