New Year, New You? This Year, Perhaps, Yes.

By Philip Li

2022 is here.  It came in quietly, at least in my corner of the world.  In fact, I slept into the new year, which isn't my norm.  But the year that passed wasn't normal either.  And like so many, I was - and am still - tired.  You might be, too.  Hopefully you got some time to rest, reflect, and renew, but probably didn't get enough. 

Often a time of reinvention and rebooting ourselves, January 1st is a date that is symbolic. Whether that's because it's the beginning of the year, a chance for a fresh start, or an excuse to watch the floats and music of the Rose Bowl (or Mummers) Parade, it is deeply entrenched in our collective psyche.  Many stay up past their bedtimes to imbibe and party with funny glasses and noisemakers, or spend hours penned into corrals with thousands of others to watch a ball drop, or 'ooh' and 'ahh' at the sight of fireworks illuminating the night sky.

But there's something more. Right. Resolutions (why is it a word I only use once a year?).  Take better care of ourselves, eat healthier, lose weight, exercise more, save more money, improve work/life balance, reduce stress, sleep better, eliminate bad habits, develop new and better ones. It feels like the same ones show up every year, only to make the list and then quickly fall off or disappear.  And that was even back in the days when we didn't have the compounding issue of the pandemic.    

I come into the new year cautiously optimistic.  But that is my nature even in the face of Omicron triggering March 2020-like behaviors.  The winter break served as a reminder that we're likely in this for the long haul, and that Covid will remain with us, like the flu, with a new shot/booster annually to handle the new variant.  The opportunity and opening is that we have been revisiting and interrogating the ways in which we live our lives, do our work, and engage with others.  Much of that has been emerging over the past two years as we've been preparing for the 'next/new normal.'  And one of the invitations is to keep thinking about ourselves and our well-being, acting on it, and making it permanent.  

The saying "new year, new you" feels like it could be real this time with a resolution that we can keep.  That's a cause for optimism.  Happy New Year.  Here we go…!