There just seems to be something about the start of a new year. Obviously, it's more of a symbolic thing than anything. Life doesn't care whether it's the first or last day of the year. It is easy to see how you can look at it as a closing of one chapter and the opening of the next.

I believe I've mentioned this before, but I'm going to bring it up again. In general I have 4 foundational principles that I live by: hustle, discipline, teamwork, respect. I've decided I'm also going to add a 5th, curiosity. Starting with the blog post after this one, I'm going to spend some time talking about each of these principles at length. I'll give my opinions on why I think these things are important.

I first came across the original 4 when I was playing travel hockey in high school. My coach explained how these 4 guiding principles were key to succeeding in many aspects of life. I believe that when I adhere to these principles, my life moves in a positive direction. When I experience failures, I can probably point to one of these principles that I failed to follow. However, I try to use failure as a place to learn from. It is a temporary and natural occurrence. I examine the failure and try not to repeat it. I try to move on from it and not dwell on it.

I'll also try to apply these principles across many situations. I went to college at a liberal arts institution, so I was taught that many seemingly unrelated areas of interest can overlap. I can take principles that I learned from hockey and apply them to work, home, and many other areas. I just need to keep an open mind, and dig a little deeper.

The next post in the series will be about the most important principle, discipline.