Fresh Starts and New Years!

If the yearly calendar was a race, the next few weeks would be a combination stretch-run obstacle course. Huge amounts of holiday joy and emotion, mixed in with the accompanying family pressures, multi-tasking, and shopping deadlines. Then, just six days later, New Years Eve arrives, with an almost mandatory demand to Celebrate! (Along with the not-too-subtle encouragement to list up a set of ‘Resolutions’, listing how you can be a better you…and guaranteeing a guilt-trip if (or more likely when) you slip up on those personal challenges.) Is it really that surprising that the next major date on the calendar is Groundhog Day?

Both New Years Eve and Groundhog Day are hoping for a change of fortune, respectively signalled by a metallic ball dropping in the middle of New York…and a rodent in Pennsylvania searching for his own shadow. At least New Years’ resolutions give us a minimum of control over our own fortunes. But can they actually work?

The answer is Yes…potentially.

Researchers have defined a ‘Fresh Start Effect’. People are basically more successful at addressing their goals if they do it at a clearly defined landmark in time, say the beginning of the month, or the week. Or especially the year.

Why?

Well, for the people who need a new start, it’s a chance to put a border between the past and the present. It’s a divorce from the past failures and misfortunes, a chance to wipe them from the proverbial books. And, as obvious as it sounds, the crucial distinction researchers made was, not everybody needs a ‘Fresh Start’. If you’re already succeeding, you’d be quite happy with the slate being left exactly as it is, and not wiped clean.

Unfortunately, too many people do need a new beginning.

One example the researchers cited was a slumping baseball player. When they get traded, someone will inevitably say that ‘a fresh start was needed. And the statistics back that up: if the player joining a new club was hitting below the league average, his numbers would go up by almost four points. And a trade is literally like getting a clean slate: the player’s average is reset to .000 as soon as he gets the chance to pull on that new uniform.

The key question is, who needs a fresh start?

As mentioned, the other striking statistic was that players who were traded while playing well actually saw their averages go down by five points after changing teams. Perhaps the reason that sports provide such strong metaphors is because there has to be an understanding of fairness in any game. Not everyone is going to succeed every single time they try - probably why any hitter gets three strikes, and not one. Any casual golfer appreciates the phrase ‘getting a mulligan,’ meaning they get to re-do their worst shot once in a game, so they’re not wrecked by a single bad occurrence. Imagine feeling like you’d never have a chance to live a successful life, all because of one previous misstep. Or just having a rough start, or something entirely out of your control happening early in your life.

The most important difference between sports and life is, we don’t need someone else to lose for us to win. If you’d like to help somebody get their fresh start there are thousands of ways to make that happen. Just like there are thousands of ways to define winning. For over twenty years, Link Charity has been helping people find the best way to give to help others. Why not make generosity part of your own resolution? Contact us today; sometimes, all someone needs is: HOPE to win.