A New Year of Minimalism (2017)

The New Year has begun! There is something fresh, hopeful, even exciting about the prospect of starting a new year. The beginning of the school year evokes some of that feeling as does the new year in my religious tradition, but neither packs the same punch as January 1. Intellectually, I know that January 1 is not much newer than December 31, but having been culturally conditioned over the years to think of the beginning of January as the one and only NEW YEAR, I am emotionally drawn to the first of January as a reset button on my life. Out with the old! Bring on the new! If only it were that easy.

As I wrote a few weeks ago, I prefer UnResolutions to making new resolutions that are bound to fail (if you believe annoying statistics on the success rate of resolutions). This doesn’t mean that I don’t have goals. I just prefer to separate them from grand resolutions of an entire year. Instead, I break them down into quarterly/monthly/weekly goals that are less overwhelming and more attainable. However, I do like having some sort of theme for the year. Gretchen Rubin organizes her book, The Happiness Project, by months with themes. She also suggests one-word themes for the new year. Just one word? That sounded nice and minimal, so I tried out her suggestion.

One year I chose “Elevate” as my theme. I wanted to raise my level of health, exercise, foreign languages, writing, and other activities. The theme was broad enough to cover many areas of my life and stop me from getting bogged down in the details (which I tend to do). Did it work? Yes, in some areas. I certainly increased my frequency of brisk walks and foreign language study. I improved my morning routine to include reading and writing. I certainly elevated my minimalist lifestyle with major decluttering and re-evaluating my needs and wants. I didn’t keep off the weight I initially lost, unfortunately, so instead of elevating healthier eating habits, I just elevated my weight. Sigh.

This past year has introduced (or rather confirmed) my preference for the minimalist lifestyle. I’ve given a lot of thought about the direction I want my life to head towards as I settle into my empty-nester years. I considered various themes for 2017 but was drawing a blank. I checked out what Rubin refers to as the “Essential Seven,” which include goals on eating better, exercising more, managing money wisely, etc. I listened to podcasts on personal development and minimalism. I discussed it with my fellow mid-life minimalists, and their New Year themes were all good (balance, contentment, mindfulness, year to clear, simplify, and more).

I wanted a new focus for myself. I even decided on a theme…a couple of times, and then I changed my mind. What did I really want from this coming year? Or rather, what did I really need? What will make my life more meaningful? And then it came to me. Explore. I want to explore new ways of living, learning, and working. I want to push away from my rut, my comfort zone, and my sofa. Explore my new city, explore new job possibilities, explore new subjects to learn. Minimalism focuses on experience over ownership, so I will get out there and explore new experiences. It sounds exciting just thinking about it, but I know it won’t always be easy for me. It is, however, just what I need. 2017 – my year to explore!