2017: The Year of Enthusiasm
Originally published Jan 6, 2017.
Now that it’s almost a week into January, the flood gates for new year resolution posts arrived with a confetti filled bang, just as the fireworks faded out across the skies. So like any good bandwagon participant, I’m taking a running leap and jumping on this one as it rolls out of town. Let me walk you through my thoughts on why 2017 should be considered the year of enthusiasm.
Wanting to be better isn’t a bad thing and people should never be chided for trying to improve themselves. Granted not everyone will be successful in their attempts to read/exercise/sleep/travel more, but it’s the thought that counts right? Personally I don’t believe we need a specified time of year to begin new habits, but with January already profusely marketed this way I often think – heck, why not. From a strategic point of view, it’s perfectly poised to allow us to gather up our old habits and leave them at the door. Psychologically many of us have recovered from the end of year exhaustion that takes hold by December (for some it’s as early as August). I know I felt ready to take on the new year after two weeks of eat, sleep, swim, repeat. With mental and physical down time we’re able to view oncoming January tasks with renewed vigour and reflect on what we didn’t like in the previous year.
Without being smug, I profess to being one of those people who as a general rule tends to complete their yearly resolutions. This is in part due to making resolutions which fit in with that year’s plans. This is also due to the fact that I probably have a personality which often overreaches in terms of making a conscious reflection towards goal setting. Let me extend that this doesn’t mean I think those who don’t have this aspect of their personality are lazy. Rather not everyone has the same priorities as others and often life surprises us in equal amounts of vitriol, melancholy and happiness. For my personal goals I want to focus on the word enthusiasm this year for several reasons.
I began to realise how important it was to be an enthusiast in life. If you are interested in something, no matter what it is, go at it full speed ahead. Embrace it with both arms, hug it, love it and above all become passionate about it. Lukewarm is no good. Hot is no good, either. White hot and passionate is the only thing to be.
Roald Dahl
Coming from a media and communications background I am well versed in media literacy and many of the terms which are thrown around in popular consumption. I want to mention that many of which are used incorrectly, but that is a topic for another day. Like many others I often feel the exhaustion of the daily news cycle and social media which permeates our livelihoods. So I want to focus on being more generally enthusiastic towards my own consumption of media and cultural landscapes. This doesn’t mean not being aware of what’s going on in the world, rather by taking a rational and concise mindfulness to the media I consume. A fantastic article on how to reshape our technology habits rather than removing them, encompasses many of my own thoughts on navigating the digital world in 2017.
Social media forms part of my career and job tasks on a daily basis, given that many of my friends and family are increasingly based internationally, I don’t think removing social media directly from my life necessarily is the answer. With so much interconnectivity, as artists and humans we have so more reach than ever before. I love seeing pictures and stories from the travels of family and friends. I love that one of my best friends can message me a picture of a recipe she has proudly perfected, regardless of the fact that she five hundred kilometres away. I also love that I can watch live streams of concerts that I would never have been able to attend in person. Whilst I won’t be leaving social media behind in 2016, I want to be selective and practice the art of enthusiasm around my usage of the digital landscape in 2017. And yes it’s okay to log off when needed.
It becomes increasingly easier to feel disaffected and disengaged from the world around us, through the lens of politics, war, economics and consumerism. I know, believe me I feel it all too. Yet the longer we allow these lenses to act as scapegoats within which we exercise our disengagement, the harder it becomes to enact real change. For me again this is where enthusiasm comes into play, in replacing the old habits of ‘there’s nothing I can do about it‘, turn it into ‘what can I do about it?’ Be inquisitive, get involved in your community or through an organisation you care about. The world doesn’t need more apathy, it needs more empathy. Ultimately this notion is something I will champion for the rest of my life.
This should also extend to our daily interactions, have more compassion for people no matter how well you know them. These are not acts of bravery, rather they are simply human decency. Stacey Jean Speer summed it up beautifully when she wrote, “people need to be encouraged, people need to be reminded of how wonderful they are. People need to be believed in – told that they are brave and smart and capable of accomplishing all the dreams they dream and more. Remind each other of this.” So for now this is me reminding you, dear reader, to be an enthusiast in life. It’s not easy and it probably never will be, but consider it your task for 2017 and let it contribute to your own well being. Go and do that particular thing you’ve always wanted to do, after all our lives are full of moments, make some more of them this year.
Let 2017 be the year we embrace enthusiasm!