The Happiness of Changing Yourself The sun of the New Year has already risen and our lives seem to be renewed by the opening of the New Year. What kind of newness did you feel when seeing the first sunrise of the New Year? To begin with, let me ask, what is newness? People sometimes confuse the meaning of ‘newness’ with ‘strangeness,’ but actually they are two very different things. Let me explain the difference: if a little boy riding his tricycle sees a bicycle for the first time, the bicycle will give him a feeling of ‘newness.’ With that feeling, he won’t hesitate to try to ride on the bicycle. Later on, the boy will be grown-up enough to drive a motorcycle and may find himself driving his own car with great expertise. When he sees the tricycle he rode on, he may have a feeling of ‘strangeness.’ Taking a step continually forward can make us feel new, but looking back on our road already passed by can make us feel strange. Precautions ought to be taken in order not to feel strange. When we find too much comfort in the car we are driving and begin to conform ourselves to it, it can be hard to catch the chance to change. But there are some moments that can offer us the opportunity to make changes in our lives, if we use the chance wisely. First of all, when New Year’s Day comes it sometimes makes us feel that we are getting older rather than feeling refreshed. There are two effects of this feeling; It can inspire us to change things so that we can remove our feeling of stagnation, but most often it causes us to feel down and low-energy, which can be de-motivating. Second, when we are thinking of our unknown future, it can make us feel uncomfortable or depressed. These feelings can be the impetus for actions that will change our way of thinking, but usually depression or discomfort leave us in a state of low-growth Finally, when we think that everything we have chosen is alright, we may not feel motivated to keep growing and changing. We may feel lazy or satisfied to stay where we are, which doesn’t help us to move forward. These three items keep us from changing something, so we need to stay away from them. Our challenge toward change can be helpful in understanding other people in many ways, even if it is designed to take good care of ourselves. In this way, as long as we make up our mind to spend every single day of the New Year in a meaningful way, we won’t feel burdensome or tend to be hasty in becoming frustrated. To live with shame makes me feel regretful or like desperately giving up the challenge to look back on last year or have retrospective views on the past. However, I’d rather accept change into my life than be frustrated all the time. It is so happy to have the New Year’s Day every year to give us a chance to change ourselves.