How a New Year’s theme can change your life

This series on alternatives to New Year’s resolutions has focused on two central questions. How do you create change that sticks? And how do you amplify the impact of that change by weaving it into your entire year, not just a one-and-done resolution?

In this alternative I want to look at is an umbrella-alternative of sorts, one you can use as a way to give your year-round change exploration a structure. Namely, giving your year a theme.

The theme might center around a personal development idea (last year I made my theme self-compassion). Or it might be some kind of knowledge or expertise you want to build (like social media marketing, or planning and putting on events). Or it might be something you want more of in your life, like connection and community.

It’s easy to start. Simply declare this year…

The year of _____.

Having a theme for the year narrows your focus, allows you to go deeper into the content of that theme, and lets you engage with it consistently enough over time for real change to unfold.

As you explore your theme over the course of the year, keep in mind three simple questions

• What can I learn?
• How can I apply it?
• What have I learned from applying it?

Create a curriculum

One way of exploring the question “what can I learn” is to create a curriculum of sorts for the year. Imagine a year-long study program focused on that one topic. What could the curriculum for that program look like?

Don’t worry about making it too comprehensive, or feel like you need to create a schedule to follow rigidly (unless that’s just how you roll – in which case, go to town). Keep it feeling light and easy. The idea is really just to create an initial container where you can map out:

• What are the different topic areas in this theme?
• Who are the subject matter experts I can pay attention to?
• What are the books I could read?
• What are the podcasts I could listen to?
• What webinars could I attend?
• What are the courses/classes I could take (in person or online)?

The goal here isn’t to get down to the micro-detail. It’s to start giving your focus a rough shape and direction so you can dive in and see where it takes you.

The learning cycle

As you embark on your exploration, you will engage in an ongoing interplay of learning, action, and learning-from-action. They’re all vital elements in getting the most out of your year’s theme.

Learning + action

Let’s say you pick up a book on your topic of choice and read it. That’s learning. But on its own, that doesn’t amount to much. Think about it. How many personal growth books have you read, nodded your head at the good ideas that you should apply in your life, only to have absolutely nothing change?

For that learning to have any impact, you need action. Maybe it’s a practice suggestion you picked up from that book you’re reading, or a series of questions to journal about. Maybe it is trying something new and seeing what kinds of results you get. Whatever it is, the important thing is that you actively engage, rather than passively watching.

One thing to keep in mind is the danger of biting off more than you can chew. Yes, action is a wonderful way to breathe life into what you’re learning, but if you try to do too much all at once it can also be suffocating. As with so many things in life, aim for a happy medium.

Harvest the learning

If you really want to get the most from your year-long theme, there’s one more piece of the puzzle – harvesting the learning from the action you take.

Maybe you decide to start a meditation practice and decide to do it every day when you get home from work. But when you actually try to implement that, you realize that with all the distractions and things that need your attention as soon as you walk through the door, after work isn’t a great time for it. So you decide to try it first thing in the morning, or right before you go to bed.

When you consciously and consistently harvest the learning, everything you do becomes a learning laboratory, where you discover what works, what doesn’t, and what might work better.

Try keeping a learning journal, where your sole focus is unpacking what you’re discovering from being actively engaged in your year’s theme. Look at everything you do through the a question lens, asking questions like:

• What worked here?
• What didn’t work?
• What is helping me implement this successfully?
• What is getting in my way?
• What do I want to leave behind? Why?
• What do I want to keep carrying forward? Why?
• What changes can I make based on what I’m discovering through this experience?

Parting thought

The value of setting a theme for the year shows up in multiple ways. First, it raises your awareness and focuses your attention on one single topic. Second, it gives you a central organizing theme for a year-long exploration. And third, it gives you an ongoing context for the knowledge and insights in your learning loop to reinforce and build on each other.

You’re going to invest the same amount of days and hours and minutes in the coming year. Doesn’t it make sense to get the most out of that investment?

Twelve months. 52 weeks. 365 days. 8760 hours. 525,600 minutes.

However you slice it, you’re going to invest the same amount of time in the coming year. Doesn’t it make sense to get the most out of that investment?

Start it off by filling in the blank:

“This year is the year of ______.”

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