How have you never been?
I counted.
In the days leading up to 2025, I received four separate newsletters containing this quote:
“And now we welcome the new year, full of things that have never been.”
I couldn’t resist following suit.
Rilke’s fantastic quote cuts to the core of reinvention, which is the focus of my coaching practice.
The dictionary defines reinvention as “the process through which something is changed so much that it appears to be entirely new.”
“Entirely new” is another way of saying “things that have never been.”
It’s tempting to interpret Rilke’s quote in a very physical-world way.
I have never been to Thailand. I should book a trip!
I have never been an entrepreneur. I should start a business!
I have never been a runner. I should buy sneakers!
I have never been married. I should propose!
I have never been alone. I should end my relationship!
I see this in my practice, a bias toward doing in the quest to get more out of life.
I strongly encourage everyone I work with to take action. And, there’s another layer to making meaningful—and sustainable—change.
What if we looked at Rilke’s “things that have never been” as ways of being?
In 2025, instead of asking yourself what you can DO differently, play around with asking yourself how you can BE different.
What if, in 2025, you…
Made decisions based on your intuition instead of “shoulds” or fear.
Answered honestly (with kindness) when someone asks you a question.
Said what you wanted, without apologizing or justifying.
Kept every commitment you made—to yourself and others.
Believed you could get the job/money/relationship/body you want.
What would happen?
To explore this, try turning each bullet into a stem sentence:
If I made decisions based on my intuition instead of “shoulds” or fear in 2025, I would _____________.
If I answered honestly (with kindness) when someone asks me a question in 2025, I would _____________.
If I said what I wanted in 2025, without apologizing or justifying, I would _____________.
If I kept every commitment I made—to myself and others—in 2025, I would _____________.
If I believed in 2025 that I could get the _____________ I want, I would _____________.
Happy New Year.
Los Angeles
January 7, 2025
