Why You Should Throw Yourself a Farewell Party
Here’s a unique concept that can help you to become the best version of yourself possible:
Throw yourself a party!
Okay, so hear me out.
This party isn’t just going to be a regular knees up. Instead, this party is going to be about saying goodbye to an old chapter in your life – even an old version of yourself – and welcoming the new.
Why It’s Time to Say Goodbye
Too many of us find that we feel “trapped” by our own personalities, our histories, and our traits. We can get trapped in something called “pattern thinking” or “type thinking” where we behave the way we always have… just because we always have.
There are many reasons for this. We could get into the neuroscience of plasticity, and how repeating certain behaviors makes those behaviors much easier in future (thereby meaning we’re more likely to repeat them even more!).
But there are also more straightforward surface reasons for this.
One is that we think of ourselves in a certain way, and we want to act in a way that appears congruent with what we’ve learned about ourselves. We all think of ourselves as being a certain way. Maybe you’re “funny,” maybe you’re someone who “doesn’t take any nonsense.”
Whatever the case, it can then become very difficult to break out of this pattern as you begin to “revert to type.” This is who you are, it’s what everyone expects from you, how can you act any differently?
Of course, if that means that you’re going to continue damaging your health because you’ve always been the guy who clears his whole plate… well then that can be a big mistake!
In other ways, we might revert to type when we’re tired or when we’re weak. While you might try to engage in new habits and behaviors, it’s always easier to revert back to the old ones.
By throwing this “going away” party for yourself though, you mark a psychological end to that period of your life and that chapter. This can have a huge impact by making you really see that time as over, and by giving you a good reason not to go back there. It has drawn a line under it, and you know that you can’t “go back” without significant consequences or without really going against what you said you were going to do.
Time to say goodbye!
