New?

The New Year is another “advent” of sorts: a new coming. But, if we’re honest, many times January 1 merely brings another year. Not really a new year. Let’s talk about this.

What really makes the first week of January any different from the last week of December (barring holidays)? It’s the week that most of us really get back to work, back into the swing of things, back into life as usual. That doesn’t sound terribly “new,” does it?

But it could be new.

What would it take for “another” year to become authentically, genuinely new? Something tangibly different from last year. A year that moves us forward, not simply in time but in our life’s trajectory. Here’s an idea: You could be new. I could be new. We could truly take on a new way of being in the world. You and I could show up in January with new ways of thinking and acting. Now that holds some serious potential!

Think about this: You and I don’t actually live in our lives; we live in our “stories” about our lives. Here’s what I mean. Every day we each have certain experiences—some routine, some fresh. Conversations, tasks, moments of work, moments of rest. These are objective happenings, but we don’t experience them objectively; we subjectively set those circumstances into a context, a story that assigns them meaning.

We take one set of events and call it a “good” day, right? Another set of events we call a “bad” day. We decide whether each experience is good or bad according to the story we tell ourselves about it. And here’s the amazing thing: two people may experience the exact same circumstance…but then tell themselves a radically different story about it. Can you feel the power of the story to shape our experience of life?

Here’s a practical example. I tend to determine a good day by the amount of tasks I get checked off my list. Sad, I know…and not at all the person I want to be! But that is my old story. For the last few months I have been making progress with living in a very new and different story: that a good day is one marked by peace and purpose. It’s more about quality than quantity, and I am practically assisted in living in my new story by integrating work and prayer throughout my day (the rhythm of the Benedictine monks, by the way).

I believe that 2020 can be a substantially new, different, and better year for me than 2019…by entering into the year with a new mindset or belief about what matters most. Make sense?

I also want to speak to another possibility. This new year may not feel better or even the same as last year; for some, the new year feels worse. Some may feel like some parts of their lives are imploding—vocationally, relationally, financially, or in some other way. This too takes us back to the story we tell ourselves. Every negative or painful circumstance entering our lives could, in fact, be part of a larger, redemptive story. Is that a trustworthy story? That’s up for you to decide: It depends on who you think God is and what Story you believe he is writing in the world and in your life.

Now it’s your turn!

ThriveTip

As you may know, I begin each year with a personal retreat: several days, sometimes weeks, to get still and quiet in my soul. To detox from my compulsions around productivity and to listen for the still, small voice of God. This reminds me of who I am and whose I am…and what matters most as I enter into a new year. I recommend it!

Whether you take a retreat or simply take a quiet hour, ask yourself what needs to change in you in order for 2020 to be truly new. What is the old story that may no longer be serving you well…and what new God-sized story resonates and invites you into this new year? Write it down. Journal or blog about it. Tell someone. Tell me.

Takeaway

Find a new Story for a new Year.