One of the most valuable lessons I learned from 2022 that I am taking with me into the new year is that you can always start again. Whenever you want. However many times you need to. Let me explain.
Going into college in September, I thought I knew exactly what I wanted from my life, from my education and from my career. By mid-October, I was starting a new course, questioning my career choices and without a job for the first time in 18 months. I felt lost while everyone else around me seemed to be on track.
However, starting again, in a brand-new course with brand new friends turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I ultimately started a new life, completely different to the one I had one week previous, in the middle of my first semester with only seven weeks left in the year. It was a random Thursday when I made the decision to start again.
Not that I had failed. I hadn’t. If anything, I learned what I didn’t want to do and began trying something I’ve always wanted to, but was scared I would fail at. The only way I would have failed was if I never tried in the first place.
As 2023 approached, many people like to think January is the time to start again or perhaps change things in their lives. This is plastered in the media, leading people to believe that the first few weeks – even days – set the tone for the remaining year. That is a lot of pressure to put on a few days for 12 months of the year.
This doesn’t have to be the case.
You don’t have to start a new task, a new habit or a new goal in January in order to have a ‘successful’ year. Write down what you want to achieve. Take the baby steps where necessary. Implement the goals when and where you can. It all doesn’t have to be done in January! If you get a new idea, a new opportunity, a new perspective to how things should be in October – that’s okay! Start again in October! There is no law saying January is the month to get it all done.
Plans change, life throws hurdles and the unpredictable predictably happens. That’s life. I didn’t expect to have my plans turned on their head in October, but it led to November and December being the best two months of my year. All because I started again. Not because it was easy, but because I needed to.
I am sharing this with you, because if you looked on my social media apps it would appear I’ve always had my things together. That’s not the case. I’ve fallen and learned and started again more times than I can count. So, if January doesn’t go your way, start in February. Start in May. Start the day after your birthday. Strat on Wednesday.
The beauty of life is that you can always start again whenever you need to, how many times you have to do it. Don’t let the media and societal norms tell you otherwise. Happy New Year.
Support Our Campaign
We rely on the generosity of the public to fund our work and so far together we have achieved great things! Please do continue to support us so we can provide future generations in Ireland with the resources to recognise and talk about their emotions, and equip them to navigate the ever-changing world around them as they grow
