Leadership Coaching BlogA New Year – Joy or Dread?

A New Year – Joy or Dread?

We are all aware of the 2012 predictions based on the Mayan calendar…

Did anyone know that the Mayans have three cycles (short, medium & long) in their calendar that are repetitive?

2012 is the end of the long cycle and then the short cycle begins, but their calendar wasn’t expressed past the end of the long cycle.

This does not predict doom, but rather, a new beginning – The end.

Solar flares are real and the Ocean temperature transference is causing the extreme weather of 2011 that will most likely continue, and this is not a prediction, but rather the truth.

Now onto the real focus…

Happy New Year!!!

Joy – A time for celebration especially if you are an optimist and young at heart.

Dread – Pessimist that is not young at heart and reflects back on times of youth.

I can relate to both perspectives being empathetic and between being young and getting old.

We celebrate youth and idolize celebrities who died young – Marilyn Monroe & James Dean

Being young is a part of our culture and Americans spend billions each year in an attempt to stay young – It’s an obsession!!

None of us want to get old, and as I age, I realize something important…

We never think getting old is an option when we live in youth.

My Father was 50 when I was born and he always said, “live your life and make as many memories as you can because when you get older you have nothing left but your memories”.

I understood and took his advice, but this perspective can never fully be understood until we move beyond youth – Catch 22.

An optimist accepts life at the moment, and finds the best aspects to focus on, and moves forward.

A pessimist focuses on what they don’t have and imagines what it would feel like if they had what their missing.

The optimistic existence is optimal but let’s understands the latter in relation to youth – We all have to go through it!!

Youth is the best part of life because our bodies are in prime condition and our experiences are limited so every abundant and new experience is exhilarating.

As we age our bodies start to slow and experiences become repetitive.

We are aware that life used to be more fun and those days could never be revisited.

We witness new trends and see people living life the way we used to live it.

Time speeds up as we get older (according to physics)

Example: At 21, one minute equals 60 seconds, at 40, one minute equals 57 seconds (A loss of 3 seconds per minute) – We slow down and it adds up!!

We need to accept that we had our chance and lived life our way.

No one gets a second chance and we need to be thankful for having the experience.

We need to accept life for the moment and embrace our current strengths.

We are more experienced, more intelligent (crystallized), and these qualities lead to better decision making (No bungee jumping).

These variables enable us to experience a more enlightened life that embraces the whole world around us and provides unique perspectives that is only attainable by an aged person.

We become the teachers of life instead of the learners – We graduate.

*What boggles my mind is that we never see it coming no matter how much we are warned.

Cheers to health, longevity, intelligence, love, and happiness.