Year Day is December 11

The end of every calendar year marks a great opportunity for self-reflection.

For exactly zero dollars, you can wield the Fresh Start Effect against yourself to regress towards the mean!

Here is a popular podcast episode about it.

Some fancy folks even try to egress away from the mean.

Personally, I don't recommend this strategy. It's easier to find a healthier "mean" in a new community/subculture and regress towards that. Go somewhere where average is plenty.

But it takes time to become somebody else, and humans don't experience Earth's revolutions in years. Every mammal gets about 1 billion heartbeats; we spend ours at 60hz.

And so we synthesize stories to steer our future selves. Resolutions and yearly themes create structure around delayed gratification.

Whoa -- there's a podcast episode about yearly themes too.

But most folks fail to find/solve their problems. They ignore their worst hurdles. They choose DUMB goals. They pursue dreams that friends/family can't/won't support.

Unsolicited feedback is rude. Silence is tragic. We need venues for positive change.

Year Day is December 11.

I often change my yearly themes in late Spring, so Year Day feels like my midterm exams. You needn't cram your life's chapters into school semesters or celestial movements.

It's your yearly nudge to solicit positive feedback. Find friends/family who want to craft the best possible Future You; prod them for honesty.

• What can I be doing differently?
• How can I get to the "next level"?
• What's holding me back?
• Do you see any patterns that influence my mood?
• What should I spend less time on?
• If you were me, what would you change?
• Where should I focus next?
• What can everybody see that I can't? What's taped to my back?

You'll discover that listening is difficult. You ask simple questions; they misremember the past, they air grievances, they stray from the point, they jab, they ramble, etc.

But do not interrupt. Listen. Listen. Listen, and repeat exactly what you heard them say. Repeat what you heard them say, not what you felt them say. Do not spin their experience to make a point -- process that discomfort on your own time.

Meanwhile, relax. Enjoy your holidays, your snow, your gifts, your music, your tradition, your friends, etc. By January 1, you will finally be ready for your Fresh Start. Cue the proverbial champagne.