As we embark upon a New Year, I think back on how much this Insight, “Dance, Even Though You Don’t Hear the Music,” summarizes the challenges we faced in 2020. Restricted in our daily activities, isolated from one another, we had to dance to our own music because we couldn’t dance to—or even hear—the music of others.

Before the pandemic, my wife Loralee and I used to enjoy ballroom dancing, which varies according to the type of music that is played. If it’s a waltz, you dance waltz steps; if it’s a foxtrot, you dance foxtrot.

But what happens if you don’t hear any music? If you want to dance, you have to let your own rhythm move you. You dance to your own beat. Surprisingly, there’s a valuable lesson and opportunity in that. It’s like my other Insights, “Magic Only Happens When You Create Your Own,” or “Allow the Unique You to Blossom.” Although it’s wonderful to dance to the music of others, if you never disengage from the “music” of others and take the time to discover your own internal rhythm, you’re missing out. And so are the rest of us. You’re depriving us of the unique contribution—the unique style, the unique flair—that only you can offer.

Many of us believe we don’t have much of importance to offer. We think that if we can’t make music like Mozart or move like Michael Jackson, we might as well stay home and not try.

That’s a shame because, as I affirm in another of my Insights, “Success comes when you try.” I firmly believe that we are each here with a unique purpose, contribution, and indeed, style. We have to give ourselves the opportunity to experiment, to try, and to fail in order to identify our purpose and develop our contribution and style. I know that in the New Year, I’ll personally be continuing to seek ways to reach more audiences with my philosophy of Modern Wellness and the importance of Conquering Cultural Stress. That probably means I’ll reach out to various publications and media outlets and get a lot of rejections. But success only comes when I try.

As we embark upon a New Year, I hope you will give yourself permission to “Dance, even though you don’t hear the music,” “Allow the unique you to blossom,” and “Give yourself permission to be happy, creative, successful,” and whatever else your heart desires. I have found that there are few things in life more satisfying than dancing to your own rhythm or living life according to your own beat.

Happy New Year!

(For more of my Insights, subscribe to my free Daily Insights app on Google Play or the iStore—and for a beautiful, hardcover coffee table-sized book of Insights and artwork, see either my book, Creating a Healthy Life, Edition one or Edition two.)