Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Yes, I know it's March. I extend this wish now because this is about the time every year when the new year starts to settle in. Writing the date with 2010 has become a bit more routine, the holiday season is over and (if you live in Seattle, at least) spring is rapidly approaching. I believe that it is in March, not January, when things really start to come together to feel "new."

It is also in March when reality starts to set in. A new year is typically accompanied by positive resolutions, temporary motivation and an abnormal case of the "happies" possessed by everyone from the grocery clerk to the businessman. It's like we back flip from December and start acting like the children of the corn, acting so totally out of character that those of us not subscribing to new year customs are thoroughly creeped out. By March, however, our eyes start to lose that awkward glaze and we officially stop drinking the Kool-Aid. People start to realize that their lives are just as miserable as they were the previous year. Newbie gym bunnies suddenly understand that in order to lose the weight you can't just join the gym, you actually have to go. Young professionals with new outlooks on their jobs finally cave in and scratch those genius plans for "restructuring the organization." Frustrated commuters again realize that their third finger is for more than just nose-picking and resume sticking it up in front of their rear view mirrors.

But it doesn't have to be this way, does it? For the past few years, I've tried to avoid the crowds and the inevitable let down that is the New Year. I think we've got it all screwed up. The majority of the world celebrates in January, which is way too early. I mean, you don't really start to celebrate a business transaction until you start seeing results, right? January is just too overwhelming anyway. A new year, and 365 more days before another one... come on now, that's stressful!

In January, I never make resolutions. I lose all motivation (as displayed by my lack of blog posts) and crankiness tends to dominate most of my conversations with people I forget are supposed to be my friends. I think the only serious resolution we should make in January is to resolve to turn another year older at some point in the new year. It's a guarantee. Well, unless you die of course - but then none of this would apply to you anyway. It's a win-win!

The Chinese are close - they celebrate in February. February gives a bit more leeway with resolutions and we've got at least a month's wort of experience to get a better idea of where the year is headed. But Valentine's Day sort of screws everything up there because half of the country is miserably not in love.

Which brings us to March. March is spring, spring is rebirth and rebirth is a new beginning. I mean, can you come up with a better argument for celebrating a new year during this time? You've got to give the new year sometime to introduce itself to you. By March, we've had two whole months to figure out how we're going to approach the new year, because the new year has already given us some information to use to help us make new decisions.

It may be unconventional, but it makes sense - and I'm actively recruiting. So Happy New Year to you, my friend. If things haven't been going well for you so far this year, there's no need to worry. It's a new year! And if things have been going well, that's great. You can keep up the good work and celebrate the new year by celebrating the successes you've already had. Either way, it's a new beginning - embrace it, create it and believe in it.