Embracing the New Year

 

At the beginning of each new year, we talk about newness. This might be setting new goals; exploring unfamiliar places; learning new skills; meeting new people or transforming into a new you. It appears to be all about wiping the slate clean and embracing change. I started to wonder about what newness actually means. In psychological terms, when we encounter something new, the brain releases dopamine, a chemical associated with pleasure and reward. This reinforces our desire to seek out new experiences, so no wonder the concept of ‘a fresh start’ at the beginning of each year is so appealing.

Newness can be exciting and challenging in ways which help us feel good. However, people respond to newness differently. Our personality, openness to change, and past experiences can have a direct influence on how we perceive and adapt to newness. As humans, we also like things to stay predictable and familiar because this feels safe. How many times have you thought about trying something new never to see it through? Balancing the desire to have new experiences with the security of the familiar helps us to control uncertainty. This is probably why most of us set goals and don’t see them through.

As I reflect on 2023, I can clearly see how I got swept up in newness. Since becoming a granny, I have taken on a new responsibility for my grandchildren and committed to looking after them as part of my weekly routine. This newness was something I chose, but I don’t think I really stopped to thing about how it would impact my life. My new commitment to caring for the twins, alongside work and other family commitments really took up a lot of my time and I did not get the balance right at all. Although this was something I really wanted in my life, as I knew it would bring me a range of positive rewards such as happiness, pride, connection, and achievement, it has also evoked feelings of nostalgia, loss and guilt for times gone by. I didn’t stop to think about how these new experiences would connect me to the past and the future with a renewed appreciation for the cycle of life.  

At times during 2023, life has felt very overwhelming and out of control. Life has thrown many changes my way this year, and while most of them have been positive, it is still important that I check-in with myself and recognise how these new experiences I have been faced with have changed me as a person. So, with this in mind, I have reflected on last year and used this reflection to help me approach 2024 with purposeful changes towards how I connect to newness. I will make a pledge to myself that in 2024 I will try to recognise and appreciate newness and all that the new year brings.

My pledge to myself in 2024

• I will walk into 2024 with my eyes open. By which I mean that I will look for newness happening in small ways. Every time I see my grandchildren, each little milestone, new word, facial expression, or game that can be played. Their laughter and their tears. Their evolution is full of newness which I can be part of every day. 

 

• I will be mindful of how new experiences can bring positive changes to me as a woman, mother, granny, daughter, sister, friend, and lover.

• I will reflect on my family and look at new ways of dealing with situations that bring conflict and sadness. 

• I will spend more time with my daughter as, although she is all grown up with a family of her own, she is still my baby and needs her mummy.

• I will reflect on my work and look at ways that I can shift to a new way of working that allows me to achieve a healthy work-life balance.

• I will practice gratitude and remind myself of how lucky I am to get to experience being a granny.

• I will reach out to my Granny Gang friends to organise more social activities with them.

• I will try where possible to be nicer to my partner (this might be the most difficult one!)

• I will set aside more time for myself and remember that self-care is not selfish.

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year! I would love to know what your pledge to yourself would be for 2024. Leave a comment below to share with the Granny Gang.