Hope Provides The Key To New Beginnings
“Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come.” To me, this quote from Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s play “The Foresters” implies that we can accomplish anything we set our mind to if it is met with optimism and the belief of success. Does that apply to new beginnings?
New Year New Beginnings
The New Year always brings intentions for new beginnings – a New Year’s resolution. But how do we stay motivated to place into motion the actions necessary to make the new resolution happen?
Do What’s Necessary
It is recorded that Saint Francis of Assisi once said, “Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”
So what counts as necessary if you are planning on creating more office space in the basement of your home?
Well, it may be necessary to clean out boxes and declutter what has accumulated over the years. Clearing out many years of collecting and storing takes motivation and the ability to let go of any thoughts that attach you to those things, which then can inhibit the progress.
Do What’s Possible
The next step to successful new beginnings would be to do what is possible. However, sometimes we may set a goal that is just not possible.
For instance, if you plan to reduce your work schedule from five days a week to four days a week due to medical reasons, can your budget handle the decrease?
If you can survive financially, are there attachments about your workload that may inhibit the ability to completely shut down from the tasks at hand that need to occur the other four days of the week?
Do The Impossible
Figuring out what is necessary and what is possible appears to be easy, but I think the challenging part is carrying out the goals and actions to get to the point of doing the impossible.
Achieving the impossible does takes time. It can feel like months or years before the incredible is achieved. But is it the hope of achieving the impossible or is it the constant motivation that is needed? I’m not sure, but I do know that without hope, optimism is gone and then expectations weaken.
So, without hope, motivation may be lost. It seems to me that holding onto hope is the key to keeping new beginnings in perspective. Start small. Think about one thing you are hopeful for and become mindful of one goal that will keep you focused on a daily basis. You may just be able to keep your new beginnings moving further into the New Year, other than just thoughts in January.