As we celebrate the end of one more year around the sun and prepare to begin anew, this is the time of the year when we all tend to set our intentions or resolutions.
The promises we make to ourselves to implement the changes we need to make to get life right this time.
For most, this is the time of the year where we live in hope. That this will be the year. The year that our life miraculously changes for the better. That, somehow, wishing for a better life will create a better life.
In my previous life as a Lawyer, I lived in hope that my life would change for years.
Every New Year´s Eve, I declared to the world, “This will be my year! This is the year that my life will change! I can feel it this time. This is my year!”
My friends would reply, “Yes, Sam. You said the exact same thing last year. What changed?” They were right.
Who was I kidding?
Nothing changed because I was living in hope.
Instead, I’d wake up on 1st January feeling sluggish from overindulging, mooch around for the day and then prepare myself to wake up on the 2nd January to put on a suffocating suit, walk into an office to do a job that I hated, and continue on with a life that would be the death of me.
Yes – my intentions were good but I was living in hope. I was living on a prayer. Waiting for a miracle.
For me, hope itself isn´t a negative emotion or feeling. Hope can be a beautiful thing. Hope can you get through rough times. Living without hope would be tantamount to soul death, but hope alone will not take you places, my friend.
I see hope as a kiss on the wind that follows one thing. Action. Setting goals and taking action step-by-step is the only way to change you or your life for the better.
That´s how I changed my life. I took action and hope became the kiss I blew on the wind that followed those changes.
It’s fair to say I am feeling more than hopeful this year because I’ve set my intentions and I have my plan. Hope will be a kiss on the wind with every step I take. My actions are what will make it all happen.
So, as you prepare to begin your new year, set those intentions, but don´t live on a prayer waiting for change this New Year. Let hope be the kiss on the wind that follows the actions you take to go after the life that you want.
(c) Samantha Wilson 2019. All Rights Reserved.
