Chucking It in the New Year

Sitting at my computer, I am surrounded by all of this stuff. The accumulation of important papers, junk mail, and other things that build up in my daily life. As I look at all of it, the question is, how did I end up here - again?

Yet, I am loathe to participate in one of the most common lemming sports - setting New Year resolutions. This time of year, you hear it almost as often as the Salvation Army bells ringing. Friends, family and complete strangers all get on a kick of sharing how their lives will change - as soon as the new year rolls in. They are going to lose that weight, clean the garage, get that promotion, etc, etc, etc...

I say just chuck it all! Take those New Year resolutions and throw them out with the dried up tree and wrapping paper. Why spend this year feeling the pressure and guilt of all the years past - again?

Don't resolve to do anything, especially not something that will have to be monitored and nurtured for a whole year.

Instead, make little choices everyday. Smile at the cashier who has been on her feet for hours. Remember the name of your server at dinner. Choose the broccoli instead of fries every now and again. Take a walk down the block and maybe even around it. Find a moment to rest your spirit. And most of all be thankful and thank others.

When Did I Change?

A few months ago, I changed positions within my company. It was a good move, and I have to admit that I like what I'm doing and the people I work with. One of the benefits of my new job is that I get to work out of my home office when I'm not traveling. This is great for convenience, comfort, and the occasional load of laundry, but lousy for inter-work socializing.

Which gets me to my thoughts. Today, I attended a holiday get-together at the office. The people attending I've known from 1 to 10 years. Many of them, I watched start their first day at the company or have known for my entire career. Yet today, I felt like I was on the outside looking in. The information they were delivering in the meeting portion had nothing to do with my current job. I was surprised at the number of new initiatives developed in a short span of months. Most of all, I wasn't an insider anymore to the personal lives and jokes.

It surprised me. It even made me a little sad.

I realized that we each become part of the culture we are immersed in at that time. Lemmings within our own microcosm and part of the greater macrocosm of the companies we work for. And for a moment, I missed the lemming I used to be.

Standing at the Edge

So now we are poised at the edge of our chosen cliff. What next?

If true lemming mentality exists, we wait. We wait to see what those around us will do. Will they stay still and watch the sunset? Will they run forward and leap to a new adventure? Or, will they simply turn around and return to their current existense, untouched by the opportunities avoided.

And then, we choose. We can follow the other lemmings. Or, we can make our own decision, separate from the group and become a lead lemming.

My life has been a series of cliff ledges. Most often I have been content to watch the sunset. Then life happens, and I find myself with things changing around me waiting for the result. It is easy to live this way and more often than not, things work out well. However, recent events are moving me to believe that eventually I will need to become the lead lemming in my own drama. There is comfortable and then there is the rut. Up til now, I have been comfortable. But that comfort is starting to look a lot like a rut. So how do I "buck up" and take the lead position?