Wipe the Slate Clean for 2022—Here Comes 2023!

Every time you tear a leaf off a calendar, you present a new place for new ideas and progress.

—Charles Kettering

I love using hard-copy calendars to note the passage of time (I have one with various NOLA scenes which always make me smile!)! As tangible markers of where we’ve been—and where we’re going—they not only help us keep track of the minutiae of our lives but also remind us to make each moment count as much as we can. The start of a whole new calendar places an even stronger emphasis on the importance of purpose and meaning, as we symbolically wipe the slate clean for this year and replace it with fresh possibilities for the new year.

But as Charles Kettering reminds us, each change of a calendar page (or the entire calendar itself) is an opportunity for a new beginning. I love the optimism and wisdom of this perspective! (I’m also a fan of this quote because of a totally unrelated happy coincidence: I got my mechanical engineering degree from Kettering University, which was named after him!)

No matter how challenging or crummy or unexpected the past year has been for you, remember that hanging a new calendar on the wall means starting with a clean slate.

Make 2023 the year you…

• stick to that exercise routine that fell by the wayside 2nd week in January (right after you signed an annual contract at the local gym of course)
• take a chance on something outside your comfort zone
• show your gratitude to the people you take for granted in your life
• say yes to the opportunities that present themselves
• take care of yourself mentally and physically
• right your wrongs, fix your mistakes, venture on untrod paths, slow down, speed up—anything you want to do when tackling a new beginning!

At this time each year, I like to remind myself—and you—to see this moment less as a “goodbye” to the past and more as a “hello!” to the future. As you stand on the threshold of the new year, pause for a moment… Open your arms wide . . . and embrace the infinite possibilities before you!