New Year...old you
New Year…Old You!
How many newspaper or magazine articles will you read this month about making a fresh start? Transforming your life? Becoming a new and improved you?
Well, if you are fed up with that clichéd message, perhaps you will prefer this:
How about, in 2004, instead of “New Year, New You”, think “New Year…Old You?”
The Child Within
Think back to yourself at 7 years old. Who were you then? How did you spend your time? What did you enjoy? What did you hate?
For most 7 year olds, life is pretty simple. The world is made up of school, playtime, dressing up, magical TV programmes, funny books, weird people, new experiences and mystery all around.
What did your typical week include when you were 7? It probably had much more “play” in it. It probably had much more “make-believe”. It probably had less self-analysis and more acceptance of things just being the way they are.
What would it be like to tap back in to that in 2004?
Some Ideas
Over the years, most of us have forgotten how to play. Everything we do has a purpose. Everything has to have a meaning. So, how about doing some activities that have no purpose other than freeing up our minds, easing up on our responsibilities and experiencing what happens when we allow life to happen to us?
1. Buy some felt tip pens and some plain paper. Instead of switching on the TV when you get home from work, take out your pens and do some drawing or colouring in!
2. Instead of walking around puddles, splash right through them!
3. Get off the bus a few stops early and walk to your destination down side streets. If you normally look down at the pavement when you walk, look up instead. If you normally look up, look down.
4. Go for a bike-ride, not for the exercise or to go to the shops but just because it’s fun!
5. Instead of inviting friends over for dinner, invite them over to play. Play the games you used to play as a child (mousetrap, ludo, jacks, operation…)
6. Do something you want to do just because you want to do it. Instead of thinking through the whys and why-nots, just go for it. Start small if you like. Eventually you might use the same approach to make bigger decisions about your life.
7. Smile at people. As adults we try to be so cool. But children often watch people and when they catch someone’s eye they just smile.
8. Take up a hobby you used to enjoy as a kid. At first you might be a bit rusty but in a short period of time, it will all come flooding back.
9. Do something you’ve always wanted to do since you were a child. Let the child that you used to be inform the decisions you make now. If the seven, ten or fifteen year old you could see you now, what would they advise you to do with your money, your free time, your life? (You may not want to take their advice unquestioningly!! But it might be interesting to take their thoughts in to account!)
10. Suspend your disbelief. Most children believe in ghosts, fairies, goblins, Santa Claus and angels. As adults we often seek logical explanations for everything. What’s the harm in believing in magic again?
