CA023: What are you looking forward to?

The first of January was dedicated by the Romans to their God of Gates and Doors - Janus. Janus had a distinctive and unusual look – he had two faces which rather cleverly meant he could look behind him with one face whilst simultaneously looking forward with his other face.

Just as doors and gates look in two directions, this god could look both backward and forward at the same time. This made him not only the guardian of exits, entrances and transitions, but just as you go through a door or gate to enter a new place, Janus was seen as the God of Beginnings.

We of course remember Janus in the name of our first month of the year, January, but he represented beginnings and firsts of all types. This makes Janus a perfect symbol for us at this and any time of the year.

So although we’re doing the two-faced Janus thing of looking back (in last weeks Changeability Podcast - episode 22) and looking forward to new beginnings today at the beginning of January – it doesn’t matter whether you read or listen to this in January or any month or day of the year.

It’s about new beginnings of any type at any time. Indeed Janus was originally honoured on the first day of every month and at other key times in the year and people’s lives such as harvest, birth and marriage.

Whilst the passing of one year into another lays down a useful marker in time to think about our lives, we can take any time as a cut off point to sign off a portion of our lives and start a new segment afresh.  Compartmentalising our thinking into years, months, weeks or even days,  gives us a convenient time span to divide and measure ourselves by.

The great thing is that any moment in our life can be a gateway to a new and different pathway – to new beginnings.

In today’s episode of the Changeability Podcast we’re talking about the concept of looking forward.  And asking you what you’re looking forward to doing, achieving, experiencing and being this year.

Are you approaching this year with excited anticipation and embracing it as something to literally look forward to. Because when we look forward to something – we expect it to happen – we’ve set an intention to do something and are now looking forward to it.  We’re looking at ways of doing this on today’s show.

Specifically in this week’s episodes we look at:

• Your score for last year score out of 10 (and ours)
• A totally insignificant unscientific sample of what people are saying about the new year.
• What is a tabula rasa and what’s on yours (and why does Julian like showing off with Latin)?
• What are you looking forward and expecting to happen this year?
• What will you score for this year be?
• How to reverse engineer this year.
• What do you need to change or do differently to get to your new rating?
• Making happy and energised two important words this year.
• What are your themes for the year?
• The positivity challenge.
• A big warning about what happens if you don’t do this (hint – nothing).
• Are you meandering or living on purpose?
• Who’s setting your agenda?
• What are you literally looking forward to this year?

5 questions to kick-start your year

1. In one year’s time how will your score this year out of 10?
2. What do you need to do and change to reach that score?
3. What are your big themes or goals for the coning year?
4. What is your ‘why’ or purpose behind these (in other words - the reason you have these themes and goals)
5. Are you looking forward to an amazing year?

Here’s to a great year ahead.  We appreciate you being part of ours and hope we continue to be a part of yours. 

For action

1. Answer the 5 questions to kick-start your year
2. Let us know your big themes and goals for the year in the comments below or in our private Changeability FB group – which you can join here