Hacking The Zeitgeist

As one chapter ends, and a new one begins, it can be easy to start off excited, optimistic and with a sense of being a “New Man” or “New Woman.” And this is great. It’s rather akin to the sense of “being reborn” I’ve talked about in former posts – a sort of Renaissance taking place in the soul.

And, of course, we all know what naturally tends to happen – as the new slowly becomes the familiar, as the fresh gives way to the mundane, we tend to lose some of that excitement, that gung-ho. The spark starts to fade. The burning flames of resolve and passion inevitably die down to smoldering embers.

And this is great too! It’s all part of the cycle of emotions and stages, the Zeitgeist of Life.

That being said, it can be disheartening to know that our feelings of grandiose zeal will inevitably become ones of day-to-day going through the motions. It kind of dispels all romantic notions about turning over new leaves and whatnot that can be so tempting to carry around.

So what can we hold onto? What can we control?

In my experience, life offers little windows where we can seize some of that fire, take it back, even for a few moments. They’re not always easy to spot, but we can train ourselves to do so. Once we start seeing more windows, the next step then is to act.

Acting on them is even harder than seeing them. Many times, to act on a Money Window, a Relationship Window, or a Craft Window takes not only courage, but a sense of immediacy and the audacity to jump in without hesitation.

If we don’t jump in fast, we just might miss our chance. That window might close, and once we turn our heads to look back, we might feel a sinking feeling, accompanied by a sort of relief.

This, I believe, is what any human being should strive to do when beginning a new chapter, a new day, a new year: grab more of these windows. Learn to abhor the sense of relief that comes from not risking our egos. Train to see them, and then train to act on them. Show up.

Last year we had our windows – the ones we missed, the ones we made. Last year we made the choices that caused us to grow, or invite new experiences, or even fail. Or we stayed comfortable and stagnant. And that was all good.

But this year, we’re going to do it again – only better. Only, stronger. Even when the fire starts to die – especially when the fire starts to die. Because that’s the best time to stoke it.

That, it seems to me, is the best way to keep things new.