My first computer (back in the day) was the Commodore 64 (named after it’s “powerful” 64 kilobytes of RAM). As a kid, it was exciting to see how cool it was to have “the latest and greatest”.
It didn’t take long to realize that we had a piece of junk taking up space in our home. Over the years, with every fancy technology upgrade I’ve purchased, I have experienced this “piece of junk” feeling within a shorter and shorter period of time.
A couple of years ago I purchased a Tesla. As I marveled about this great technology, I thought to myself, “How many years from now am I going to say ‘Yeah, my first electric car was the old piece of junk Tesla. It only gave me 265 miles on a charge.’?” People would laugh because every electric car will have a minimum of a 1000 mile range. Will it be 5 years from now? 10 years from now? I don’t know – but I am sure that we will all laugh at how brutal our technology was in 2016.
Is it really that different when it comes to ourselves? I look back at my 20’s and it’s embarrassing. I was so sure I had it all figured out. I knew so much. Then, with a little time, a little humility, and a bunch of experience, I realize that the older I get the more I realize I don’t know. (Is it possible I’m getting dumber with age?)
We MUST reinvent ourselves. We MUST become better versions of ourselves, otherwise we risk becoming obsolete. Not only obsolete to our careers, but obsolete to our social lives, our emotional health, our physical health, our spiritual lives.
To me, the holiday time sparks a time for reflection. Out with the old, in with the new. What do I not like about my life? What do I like about my life? What are my biggest priorities? What do I want in the new year? How can I better myself in the new year?
I hope that we all find time over the holiday season to ask ourselves some very important questions. None of us want to run our lives on an outdated platform. Let’s reinvent ourselves and be the best versions of ourselves in the new year.
– Jaime
Thoughts for the new year – by Michael Josephson
I hope the past year will go down in your book of life as one filled with great pleasures and grand memories. But whether the year was good, bad, or indifferent, I hope you’ll enter the new year wiser and stronger for your experiences, and optimistic that the best is yet to come.
A vital quality of a happy and successful personal and professional life is continual growth spurred by a commitment to learn through study and experience. This requires the humility to accept that however good you are you can get better and the ambition to be better.
As you look forward to the future – the place where you’ll spend the rest of your life – it’s smart to look back at the immediate past and objectively assess what went well and what didn’t in your job, your relationships, your health, and your overall sense of fulfillment. What did you learn that can make your life better?
If you had a bad year, it’s possible you were a wholly innocent victim, or maybe your own actions or attitudes contributed to serious grief or unhappiness. Either way, please accept my best wishes and sincere condolences. Please be careful, however, not to wallow in sorrow, sympathy, shame, or self-doubt. Don’t allow yesterday’s pain to become tomorrow’s suffering.
Be accountable, but be fair to yourself.
Start the next stage of your life’s journey with optimism and confidence.
Remember, you’re the captain of your own ship. Take the wheel, choose your course, and get on your way.
There may be rough seas ahead, but there will also be enough achievement, growth, reconciliation, and true joy to make the journey worth it.
Abe Lincoln pointed out that one of the good things about the future is it always comes one day at a time.
May this new year be your best year – so far.
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