As we welcomed in the Chinese new year last month the press and social media seemed full of excitement and information around this year. The year of the fire horse.
Fire horses only come around once every 60 years in the Chinese zodiac and it symbolises transformation, intense energy, action and forward moving.
People whom I had never discussed Chinese astrology with before were bringing the fire horse to my attention and were full of enthusiasm about the energetic shift the turn of the year could create.
A new year always brings a feeling of a fresh start, turning over a new leaf, an opportunity for reinvention. But what is it about the symbolism of the fire horse that so many find so motivating?
The fire horse is characterised by continuous relentless forward motion. Offering us a chance to break away from the norm, restrictions we have enforced upon ourselves and stagnant situations. Trusting in our instincts and going against the crowd more. Becoming reacquainted with our independent rebellious spirit.
And maybe we are just all ready for this.
Whether we like it or not, we know so much these days, we are in an era of information overload. And we can see how hundreds, if not thousands, of people are living their lives. Perhaps all of this is shifting the decisions we do or indeed do not make in our own lives. We could take this route, or that route, but what if this happens? And what about what’s going on over there? It’s exhausting.
What are the benefits of thinking less and taking more action?
We may think we are being highly responsible and sensible by thinking about every decision we make carefully. But while we are mulling over things over here, someone over there has taken the first step, started something, learned some things along the way and is getting on with their lives.
Taking action usually builds momentum and can unearth new opportunities and avenues we may never have considered whilst thinking things over.
Taking action can help prevent us from falling into a stagnant cycle of procrastination. And you can’t really learn how to do something properly without just doing it anyway. You can’t wait to become the master first, as the mastering only happens through the doing.
Taking one small step towards a goal stops us from becoming overwhelmed by what it is we are trying to achieve. Taking action allows us to focus on the present, today, what we are doing in the now. Rather than thinking about the bigger picture and feeling intimidated by its scale.
How being more mindful can help
Time and time again, people think that mindfulness is an activity of the mind. Focussing on our mind and defending it from the thoughts that keep coming up.
But really it is just awareness, a gentle shift back to just being. Aware of the thoughts that arise and realising that we are not our thoughts but that we are actually who we are just by being.
Jon Kabat-Zinn often advises that we don’t take our thoughts too seriously. All of our thinking is influenced by many factors like our upbringing, education and societies expectations of us, to name a few. We often take life too seriously because we put too much emphasis on the story our mind has constructed of our life.
Allowing ourselves to be led more by awareness rather than constant, stressful thinking can feel incredibly liberating.
I wrote an article in January about how regret can be mindless.
Dr. Ellen Langer, professor of Psychology at Harvard University, stresses that we only have one life so there is no way of ever knowing what the “right” life would have been for us. We have nothing to compare it to.
Langer advises that we
Stop stressing about making the right decision. Make the decision right.
Just pick one decision randomly, whether the decision is big or small. It doesn’t matter. We are never going to know what the alternative is. If we are really struggling to mindfully choose then just pick an option and make the best of it.
Does this sound too scary or the right amount of fire horse for 2026?
Hats, Haircuts, and Tattoos? Are there ever times we need to mull things over a little longer?
Now there are definitely some decisions in life you’d want to think about for a bit before diving in head first.
James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, thinks about decisions in three ways: hats, haircuts and tattoos:
“Most decisions are like hats. Try one and if you don’t like it, put it back and try another….
Some decisions are like haircuts. You can fix a bad one, but it won’t be quick and you might feel foolish for awhile…..
A few decisions are like tattoos. Once you make them, you have to live with them….When you’re dealing with an irreversible choice, move slowly and think carefully.”
Final “thoughts” 😉
Nobody is suggesting that we keep foolishly jumping from one hasty decision to the next without a moment of consideration. But perhaps we feel like we have given too much power to thinking and need to be listening to our intuitions, our guts, our instincts more.
We may have also started confusing hat choices with tattoo decisions. Placing too much weight on temporary fixable scenarios. If it can be changed or reversed and doesn’t hurt anyone why not give it a try?
Perhaps we need to hold our thoughts a bit more loosely, don’t take them too seriously and move forward without fear.
And maybe this is the best year for it.
And if we do end up with a tattoo we regret, then lets not give ourself too much of a hard time about it. Use it as a reminder of a care-free version of ourself who felt it was a good idea at the time.
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