The new year is a new horizon. It’s a fresh sunrise, a new mercy, hope in the morning. It’s the putting on of a new self, the shedding and letting go of the heavy and the cumbersome. It is the setting down of the burdens and the weight that you have carried. It is the bursting forth of a new journey, filled with endless wonder and opportunity. Atomic Habits is the map for the voyage. It is the wisdom of old boldly declaring to you that who you want to be is worth it. It is the gentle guide pointing you in the right direction.
Every new season is an offering to make new choices. As one season ends and another begins, there is an instinctual yearning to look behind and examine our experience of the past. What happened in this last season that you experienced that worked really well for you? What can you take with you into the new season that is going to support you? Sometimes looking behind may feel painful or challenging as you recognize that there are experiences and choices that didn’t work for you. You may find yourself in a place of wanting and needing something different and new.
As the New Year breathes new life into our souls and spirits, we get the opportunity to choose a new vision for the next season. But where do we start and how do go about making changes in a way that will leave a lasting impression and not just short-term burnout that leaves us feeling fatigued and disappointed? Atomic Habits by James Clear is a #1 New York Times bestselling book all about making tiny, remarkable changes in your life.
Brimming with accessible, actionable steps, Atomic Habits will help you take steps towards the person you want to become by shifting in a 1% direction change, one choice at a time. Sounds manageable enough, right? Whether you’re a mom who wants to start an exercise habit, shift an eating habit, start a habit of reading to your kids every day or practice caring for yourself, Atomic Habits will teach you the philosophy behind habits that will keep you out of the short term “new year, new you” motto and into the practice of actually becoming the person you want to be.
James Clear enlightens us with the simple reminder that who you are is the sum of what you repeatedly do. Every tiny, atomic choice you make every day sends you on a trajectory. Who you currently are is the result of these small, seemingly insignificant choices. However energetically we feel on the cusp of the new year about our “goals”, we are not likely to succeed with a massive overhaul on deeply neurological, unconscious ways of being. We are biologically wired to stay in the familiar and the comfortable. Thus, we begin the hero’s journey by accepting that mastery requires practice, repetition and time. It is accepting that 1% better today is the journey to becoming who we want to be.
Froto’s journey into the deep began with a choice to put the ring in his pocket and pack a bag. In Finding Nemo, Marlin’s hero’s journey begins with the choice to swim one inch into the Drop-Off. Dorothy’s journey beings one brick at a time as she follows the yellow brick road. Luke’s journey begins when he decides to get on the speeder with Obi-Wan. All of these heroes valiantly accepted the call to adventure without knowing how their journey would end. Each traversed crossing the threshold of possibility and into the belly of the whale. Their journeys are fraught with failure, risk and getting back on their feet and going again. Small, minuscule choices to stay on target.
Are you listening for the whisper in your soul calling you into adventure this year? What is the first step towards taking action in your life? Maybe today it is simply choosing to purchase Atomic Habits and getting the book in your hands. You can find it here on Amazon. Maybe it’s putting your walking shoes on and committing to getting dressed as if you were going to go on a walk. Just see how it feels to just get the darn shoes on your feet!
Every hero’s journey begins with a small, seemingly insignificant step towards the call to adventure. What’s yours?
