The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
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Jim LaBelle COURTESY PHOTO
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The end of December and the beginning of January is always such a special time. Our downtowns are lit up festively, and people are out and about getting ready to celebrate the holidays with family and friends. Most folks look forward to enjoying holiday traditions and basking in some well-earned downtime. This time of year is always such a welcome respite as one year ends and the next one begins.
At some level we all know that life - and time in general - is a flowing river moving forward inexorably towards the sea. In theory no day should be any more important than any other day, and yet most of us fixate in interesting ways on certain calendar milestones that mark time. For example, we all seem to gravitate towards round numbers. Turning 39 or 49 or 59 years old is no big deal, but turning 40 or 50 or 60 makes us pause and consider more profoundly where we are at in our lives.
In a similar fashion, Jan.1 starts the annual calendar of months and days all over again, and it's often a time of deep reflection on the prior year and heightened focus on what's to come. Even if you are feeling the effects of excessive celebration from the night before, one simple positive development when you wake up on January 1st is you are still here and alive to experience another year, that is a great start! And we can use the occasion of another New Year to think about where we are currently in our journeys, and consider our hopes and dreams for the coming year.
The classic and definitive holiday story - with apologies to "It's a Wonderful Life" and "Elf" - is "A Christmas Carol". Mr. Ebeneezer Scrooge provides us with a motivating message for end-of-year contemplation - we can change, and for the better. It is a powerful truism that nothing is fixed forever. Change will inevitably happen whether it is self-directed or imposed, so we might as well undertake a process annually to think about how we would like to grow and evolve in the coming year; professionally, personally and in our community. The New Year is an ideal time to remind ourselves that anything is possible.
While it's a bit of a cliche, the first step in achieving anything is being clear about what our goals actually are and envisioning what it is we truly want in our life. The word "manifesting" is in the popular parlance as of late, encompassing the idea that you can think your dreams into reality. That would certainly be nice if just thinking could make it so, but visualizing what success looks like is a critical first step, and positively affirming it in our thoughts is important too. Typically though that needs to be followed by action, concrete steps undertaken to move towards our goals.
For example, if you've always dreamed of opening your own business, January would be an ideal time to get going on bringing your ideas to life. At the Chamber of Commerce, we love seeing entrepreneurs pursue their dreams, it helps drive our economy and our area forward. Give us a call if we can help get you started. Wherever you dream of going, you can use some of your downtime over the holidays to start charting your navigational course to get there. Maybe we will have a grand opening ribbon cutting at your business this coming year.
Positive change has a way of increasing its own momentum once it begins. Think of downtown Biddeford 10-15 years ago, and consider the many positive developments that have occurred and all the hard work by so many over the ensuing years to fill empty spaces with new life and vibrant energy. There is such great momentum in our entire area and it continues to build every year. Biddeford & Saco can do it as communities, we can too.
Sometimes the present reality can seem too challenging or constraining to overcome. But the beginning of the New Year is no time for negative thoughts or limiting self-talk. Your current situation is simply the accumulation of all of your past life experiences and lessons learned. It does the work of tethering you to the ground that you stand upon today, and forms the springboard from which you will leap forward. We are fortunate to have our own unique place to stand right here in the Biddeford-Saco area, our place that we can all grow from in the coming year.
So a humble suggestion here but perhaps take some time to formulate and write down some New Year's resolutions, or create a 2025 vision board for yourself, or simply resolve to try some new things this coming year and dig into opportunities that you've always wanted to explore. Best wishes from the Chamber of Commerce for a happy holiday season and a fulfilling 2025.