Tabula Rasa
The start of a new year always brings out the dreams. As we turn close the book on one year and open the next, it appears that we have a blank slate for what we can accomplish. Tabula Rasa - the mind in it’s blank slate before being influenced by outside impressions. That’s what a new year is, right? Time and goals in the original pristine state before we get a chance to start screwing things up. It’s one of the greatest things about the turn of the year - that clear calendar and the opportunity to dream big.
Or is it? As 2019 ticks to a close and 2020 dawns before us, is it really fair to completely wipe the slate clean? That purges not only goals that weren’t met and things we’d rather forget, but the things we did accomplish. It doesn’t honor that the person who started 2019 isn’t the same person who is starting 2020. The blank slate idea erases the things we learned over the course of year - both from failures and successes. And without recalling those lessons, we are doomed to repeated them. So wipe that slate clean as you start the new year, but remember the things you learned.
This rings very true to me this year. While I would love to have a blank slate for 2020, it’s just not possible. I can’t turn the page and forget everything that happened in 2019. Every mile taught me something about my mental strength and physical endurance. Each race was a chance to meet new people and see old friends. Yes, there are some things I would love to erase (root in KC perhaps?) - even that taught me important lessons. Lessons on patience, recovery and the importance of friends. If I start 2020 without acknowledging that, then all the pain was meaningless. It also forms the basis for my goals for 2020. Before I can dream big (or admit to dreaming big) I have to think small. Small means getting healthy, letting the ribs heal. Small means being aware that I had major surgery and a chest tube for several days and it’s more then just my ribs. Small means slowly building into the distances and intensities I was handling easily before November 13th. Small means smart and there’s no way I can accomplish the big goals I have planned without being smart.
Tabula Rasa. It means not looking back at what I was doing on January 1, 2019 and comparing who I was 365 days ago with who I am now. It means acknowledging all that I did in the last year, all that I learned and all that happened. 2020 is truly a blank slate, but that slate was formed from the lessons of 2019.
Or is it? As 2019 ticks to a close and 2020 dawns before us, is it really fair to completely wipe the slate clean? That purges not only goals that weren’t met and things we’d rather forget, but the things we did accomplish. It doesn’t honor that the person who started 2019 isn’t the same person who is starting 2020. The blank slate idea erases the things we learned over the course of year - both from failures and successes. And without recalling those lessons, we are doomed to repeated them. So wipe that slate clean as you start the new year, but remember the things you learned.
This rings very true to me this year. While I would love to have a blank slate for 2020, it’s just not possible. I can’t turn the page and forget everything that happened in 2019. Every mile taught me something about my mental strength and physical endurance. Each race was a chance to meet new people and see old friends. Yes, there are some things I would love to erase (root in KC perhaps?) - even that taught me important lessons. Lessons on patience, recovery and the importance of friends. If I start 2020 without acknowledging that, then all the pain was meaningless. It also forms the basis for my goals for 2020. Before I can dream big (or admit to dreaming big) I have to think small. Small means getting healthy, letting the ribs heal. Small means being aware that I had major surgery and a chest tube for several days and it’s more then just my ribs. Small means slowly building into the distances and intensities I was handling easily before November 13th. Small means smart and there’s no way I can accomplish the big goals I have planned without being smart.
Tabula Rasa. It means not looking back at what I was doing on January 1, 2019 and comparing who I was 365 days ago with who I am now. It means acknowledging all that I did in the last year, all that I learned and all that happened. 2020 is truly a blank slate, but that slate was formed from the lessons of 2019.
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