Life Lessons by Erin Kincaid: New Year, New View

ROCKWALL, TX (Jan. 16, 2023) It’s that time of year; The occasion that causes more division and argument than any other – the Season of Resolutions. To resolve or not to resolve – that is the question! Visit any social media platform, or begin to tell just about anyone anywhere what your take on the argument is and you will find a pretty split audience. You’ll find half of folks dive right into the season of bettering ourselves, the other half have a compelling moral absolute as to why resolutions are nonsense and not to be trusted.

But, what if we looked at this season from an entirely different angle? What if instead of the antiquated, “New Year, New You,” we edited that last piece to its rightful and purposeful position: New Year, New View?” You see, there is not a body on earth that doesn’t need to reevaluate things from time to time. Not everyone requires a resolution or two to help us change but at some point in our lives, and most likely this coming year, everyone will need fresh perspective and to be able to develop a new mindset. “The mind is where our successes or our failures are born, and nurtured. It is the womb of great ideas, our achievements, dreams, aspirations and visions.”* It is in our mind, from that chosen perspective, that all things start, and sometimes we need to realign that view with some new scenery.

So how does this new year, new view thing work? Quite simply actually, with these goalposts in place we can shift into focus:

Monitor What You Think – any information you take in your mind through your senses has an affect on your reasoning, logic and response. You have to monitor and filter through what you are taking in, and what is trying to worm its way into your headspace. My mom likes to say,, “Junk in, junk out!” It’s true, too. If you soak in the negativity of this world, you will become like it. Ask any parent of a pre-teen girl and they’ll tell you! ‘She was so sweet until she got to middle school!’ We must treat our mind like a sieve and strain out the unwanted and unnecessary things.

We Become What We Think – This is nothing new. We have heard this before but even so, many of us still speak negatively to ourselves. I know many people who are their own personal, private bullies. Often, we end up saying what our parents said to us, or we repeat the negative things we heard from an unhealthy relationship or former partner and as the ancient Jewish Proverb goes, “As a man thinks in his heart, so he is.” We must speak light and love to ourselves.

Use Your Mind – The mind is a muscle. The more we use it, the better it becomes at activity and productivity. According to the smart people, we are only using 10% of our noggin. If we are only using ten percent of our brain’s capacity, then we better make sure that ten percent is maxed out if we are going to reach our fullest potential. The great thing about an active mind, one that is reading, and thinking, and processing, and solving issues, is that it is able to take on new challenges, create new things and handle stress and conflict with greater capacity.

Choose Your Mind – You may not realize it but you get to decide what your view is going to be. Yes, you. You can literally handpick your perspective. Case in point, we are renovating a home in former East Germany (to be used for mental health retreats and group trips) and it is old. Very old. When I saw it for the first time, I cried. I could see all the beauty she would bring into the hearts and lives of others. To me, it was new, and precious, and all mine to create something wonderful within her walls. I told everyone that as we renovated, I wanted to make sure she held onto her old world charm and style. My German friends, who live in Germany and see old buildings every day, thought I was nuts. They could not see how I would choose to take an old building and keep it old. Where was the beauty in that? Why would I not make everything new and modern? IYou see? Perspective is everything. I have this torn page of a magazine advertising Kilz primer paint on my fridge to remind me of that truth. It reads, “They see problem, you see potential.” It’s all in the way we see things.

So what’s it to be? Will you harness and cultivate a motivated mind? A willing mind? A renewed mind? A peace filled mind, a gentle mind, or maybe a forgiving mind? The possibilities are endless because this is your new view. Now, your question each day is not did you complete your resolution or goal but how did you decide to view things? It is how the new you is created and one can only find success in that type of resolution.

* Quotes and parts of the article were taken from and inspired by the Midwest Seminary & the American Missions Team Evengleistic Organization, Inc. 2005, USA

Guest column and graphic by Erin Kincaid, Founder and Clinical Director of Rockwall Heath Counseling. She holds a host of degrees in Psychology, Christian Counseling, Anthropology and is working toward her PhD in Clinical Counseling.

Erin lives in Rockwall with her husband and son. Look for more of her guest columns here.