Often, when we think of a new year we see unlimited possibilities for change and improvement. We start off with high hopes and new year’s resolutions to work out more, be more intentional with our actions, finally balance work/life responsibilities, and just be an all-around good person. What we often leave out in our betterment plan is that process and progress take time. Growth is not linear, and life is a marathon not a sprint. What if we shifted our perspective this time and saw the new year as a new chapter?

Think about it. Have you ever been lost in a good book with a hero protagonist who may struggle at times, yet miraculously finds the gold, slays the dragon, and saves the world from moral corruption? That’s how many of us see ourselves or each other—more or less. We measure our insides with everyone else’s outsides. We may portray ourselves as having it all together, taking life in stride, not bothered by the bumps along the way when quite the opposite is true. The stories we create and believe inform how we measure ourselves to others.

As explained on the Dulwich Centre website (a learning community for narrative therapy):

“As humans, we are interpreting beings. We all have daily experiences of events that we seek to make meaningful. The stories we have about our lives are created through linking certain events together in a particular sequence across a time period, and finding a way of explaining or making sense of them. This meaning forms the plot of the story. We give meanings to our experiences constantly as we live our lives.”

Just like chapters in a novel, there are many possibilities our story can take. There is not one correct direction. We string together certain events throughout our lives to create our story and give importance to meaning based on context. “In these sorts of ways, the beliefs, ideas and practices of the culture in which we live play a large part in the meanings we make of our lives.”

So how will you celebrate this next chapter in your life? What events will you give meaning to and what will slip by you, unnoticed? I suppose when you think about it, everyday can be the start of a new year, a new chapter. As the late poet Mary Oliver asked, ​​”Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”