The Power of Thresholds

January 1. A new day in a new year. A day when we believe we can remake ourselves, pull the lever on the track and start a new journey, redefine who we are.

Why do we imbue this day with so much power?

One curious study about memory started from investigating why it is that we so often will get up and go into another room only to realize that when we get there we can’t remember what we planned to do. This was contrasted with traveling the same distance but without crossing a threshold. They found that subjects were far more likely to forget their tasks when they went through a doorway - and so this phenomenon is called the “Doorway Effect.” This has been replicated in many different forms using real and virtual spaces, returning to the original location, and other variations which in the end all demonstrated that there’s something about going from one space into another which wipes the slate clean.

Metaphorically, December 31 to January 1 is such a doorway.

This is an opportunity to have a clean slate and we can choose to write something new on it.

It’s true that all the problems that existed before are still there. It’s also true that we have the chance to take stock, think about how we got here, and work to remember our intentions moving forward.