Neil Gaiman Quote on the New Year and How He Hopes You Make Mistakes

“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re doing something.”

Neil Gaiman

Beyond the Quote (Day 366)

With a new year comes an opportunity for a fresh start.  Of course, we can choose to start fresh whenever we want—the opportunity is always only one decision away. But, when the clock strikes midnight and the year switches over, it feels only natural to begin anew with the great reset of time on our calendars. And if you can align yourself with this great renewing, like a surfer aligning themselves with the coming of a great wave, then you may be able to enjoy a great ride of momentum heading into your new year.

Before you can catch the wave, however, you have to do your ground work. First, you have to practice your surfing technique. You can’t simply surf a great wave if you don’t even know how to stand up on a surfboard. So, practice standing up. Go through the motions of your fresh start and get your muscle memory established. When to go from stomach to feet; when will this action take place? Where to place your feet; where will this action happen? How to balance properly; how will you make this action happen? Who is going to give you feedback on your technique; who is going to hold you accountable for your actions? Why are you learning to surf; why choose this action for your fresh start?

Once your ground work is done, take it to the water! It’s important not to overthink this step. Too much planning can actually have the opposite of the desired effect—it can keep you feeling productive and simultaneously, keep you from taking any actual action. Which, of course, isn’t productive. Action is what’s going to give you everything you need to go from ground work to surfing. Try; fail; try again. Try catching the baby waves, fail a bunch, succeed a few times, then move up to toddler wavers and repeat upwards to the adult waves. The key is to move swiftly from ground work to trial and to keep learning and adjusting with each failed trial thereafter. The people who succeed are the ones who fail more times than the unsuccessful even try.

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