January 2015

Renewal. That’s the word that comes to mind after the start of a new year. January 1^st is like the Monday of a new week; it’s full of hope, possibilities, and often positivity. It is a time when most are motivated to start doing the things they have wanted to, but haven’t. Sure the weather is a giant hurdle to get over here in Japan, but with the right attitude (and layers) you can be nearly unstoppable. For JETs, January is even more important since it’s when the decision to return or move on becomes official. Whatever that decision is, make sure you go forward setting yourself up for success. Reflect on what you want to improve on from 2014 and keep an eye out for opportunities in 2015.

Luckily this issue has a few things to get your new year started off right and make your future a bit more exciting. Want to start reading more? Join the HAJET Book Club this month on Sunday, Jan 18 (or attend Osaka AJET’s second meeting next month). Are you tired of listening to the same tracks over and over again on your music player? Discover a variety of music from this month’s five recommended albums. Better yet, read through the interview with the Tokyo-based indie rock band DYGL. Music not your thing? Try the podcast that caused our language method master, Louie, to step away from the classroom this month and explore the popularity behind Serial. If too much change worries you, head to our regular contributors’ sections where zen master Scott writes his first restaurant review, Helen brings you something new from her kitchen, and Brittany shares her time in Korea and shocks us in The Durants.

Getting back to the New Year, I won’t pretend that I have the answers on how to make a resolution that won’t be stopped at the beginning of February, but I will offer a suggestion that at least sounds good in theory (though has no study or experiment backing it). Make a list of things you want to get better at, it can be anything; Japanese, coding, rock climbing, cooking, Skyping with friends and family – however many you want. Once the list is finished, simply pick one that you’re going to target for 2015 (they’ll be other years to tackle your other goals). After picking only one, make a commitment to do it once every week. Ideally choose a day where you have a lot of down time – and once a week isn’t even asking a lot to do whatever skill it is you’ve chosen. I’m not even putting a time length on how long you should practice or do your activity for. Five minutes, thirty minutes, an hour, just do it. Once a week for one year is 52 times, give or take, that you will have done whatever it is you wanted to improve. Will you be a master afterward? Probably not, but you definitely won’t be a complete amateur and who knows, maybe that initial start will snowball into increased motivation where once a week turns into twice or three times a week – that’s 104 or 156 times you’re practicing! We all know that new skills open up new opportunities and that’s exactly what most of us want in a new year. As a friend once said, “There is no time for wasting any time. This is the end of the line, the definite sign of what we will be someday.”

Sean Mulvihill