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Blog post – 8^th January 2026

Updated on 9th January 2026

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Thoughts related to New Year Resolutions:

The quest for wisdom and self-development is like the creation of a forest floor…in some respects…

By Jim Byrne, Doctor of Counselling

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Blog Post Summary

In his blog post dated January 8, 2026, Dr Jim Byrne reflects on personal development and the pursuit of wisdom, emphasizing the interconnectedness of daily experiences and enlightenment. He presents the concept that one’s future is shaped not merely by today’s thoughts, but by cumulative experiences and actions. Drawing parallels between the formation of a forest floor and character development, he argues for the significance of proactive change and self-education. Encouraging readers to blend intention with action, he stresses that understanding alone is not enough; intelligent action is essential for meaningful transformation. He concludes with wishes for a successful New Year; and some notes of guidance on how best to create and pursue your reslutions for 2026.

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Introduction

Do you want to know my latest insight into the journey of personal development? If yes, please read on…

I am a seeker after wisdom; not because I think wisdom will bring me a lot of money – though I also want a significant amount of money – (if I can get it morally!)

I don’t actually know why I am a seeker after wisdom. It was not something which I chose. It seems to be something that chose me, when I was about fourteen years old, and I discovered the second-hand book stalls outside the bookshops on Aston Quary, and Bachelors Walk, in central Dublin, when I was a first-year metal jewellery apprentice.

But my quest for wisdom has led me into and through Zen Buddhism, moderate Stoicism, and various systems of counselling, psychology, psychotherapy, philosophy, and self-help processes.

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My latest insight into how to build a better tomorrow

My latest insight into the journey of personal development arose in a slightly obscure, and bizarre manner, two mornings ago. Indulge me if you will:

I awoke after a good night’s sleep. But before I could get out of bed, to go to the bathroom, I had this profoundly certain insight: “Nirvana is Samsara”!

Readers who are familiar with Buddhist philosophy will know what that means. But how can I translate it for people from more traditional European or American backgrounds?

Essentially, this phrase suggests that the ordinary world of daily experience (Samsara), with its ups and downs, is not separate from enlightenment (Nirvana); rather, they are two sides of the same coin. For those raised with more Western philosophies, it might be akin to recognising that fulfilment and meaning are not found in escaping life’s messiness, but in fully engaging with it, embracing both its joys and its challenges. In other words, the path to growth isn’t about running away from difficulties, but learning to see them as integral to our journey.

I had read this phrase several times in the writings of authors like Alan Watts (The Way of Zen) and Shunryu Suzuki (Zen Mind, Beginners’ Mind).

But as I lay there in bed, it occurred to me that this was no longer a phrase; a saying; or an intellectual understanding. It had become what Christmas Humphries has called “an intuition”. I could feel it “in the marrow of my bones”!

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How could that have happened? How could I have changed so fundamentally?

Where did this “intuitive conviction” have come from? The only explanation I could come up with was this: The process of meditating, about five nights every week, for decades, has somehow crystalized; combined with all the Zen and related readings that Renata and I have done, night after night, year after year.

The concept of “sedimentation” drifted into my mind; and then the sense of how a forest floor may be formed, by year after year of “sedimentation” of foliage.

In ecological terms, this process is more commonly referred to as “leaf litter accumulation” or “organic matter deposition”, but “sedimentation” is sometimes used metaphorically to convey the layering and slow build-up of material. While “sedimentation” traditionally refers to the settling of particles in water (like soil or sand in a riverbed), I am using it here poetically to describe the layered formation of forest floors, which should be understandable and evocative, especially in the context of personal growth and the gradual accumulation of insights.

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The “sedimentation” (or “laying down”) of character and personality

My next thought was this: Personality and character formation are like a sedimented forest floor, laid down by years and years of deposition and accumulation. But in the case of a person, the deposition and accumulation are not organic matter, but rather “cumulative, interpretive experiences”, and the results of all of our actions in the world, including our perceiving-feeling-thinking.

My next thought was this: The author of the Dhammapada got it wrong by claiming that “Your life of tomorrow is determined by your THINKING of today!” (And this error of reasoning has become the foundation of rational therapy and cognitive behavioural therapy!)

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There is more to life-determination than thinking

I was now very clear that my life of tomorrow will be determined by all of my cumulative, interpretive experiences; my actions in the world, including my perceiving-feeling-thinking processes and responses to stimuli (- plus the objective environment that I encounter tomorrow; and how I manage my lifestyle between now and tomorrow!)

And if I want to improve my life of tomorrow, I have to take “improving action” today. (This was a hugely significant insight because I have had more than fifty clients, over the past ten years, who think, but will not take NEW actions. Because they, like all humans, are creatures of habit, they keep repeating the same old habitual behaviours which have created their difficult lives of today, and because they will not change their behaviour today, they are going to keep getting the same old difficult life tomorrow!)

(The sedimented forest floor of the individual human is their body-brain-mind, and not just their mind. And the way this metaphor breaks down is this. The forest is a completely automatic process, while a human being has a theoretical access to personal change! In theory, we can each change the habits that build up the forest floor of failing lives! But in practice…!)

This is not a new idea. It overlaps the NLP idea that, “If you continue to do what you have always done, then the result you will get is the result that you always have got in the past, and the present!”

If my intuition added anything to that insight, then it is this: “If you want a better tomorrow, you need to change some significant aspect of your habitual behaviour today!”

If you can!

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One step forward, two steps back…

I was pleased with my progress. My quest for wisdom was proceeding apace. And it had sedimented down in the marrow of my bones! (And my brain-mind/nervous system/and-musculature!) My “forest floor”!

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So I went to the bathroom.

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Back in the bedroom, I got back into bed to do my morning Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) exercises:

Then: No!

Aristotle!!!!

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The Nicomachean Ethics of Aristotle

But Aristotle had argued that our character formation (and he did not exclude personality) is a result of our childhood training!

But if my character is a product of my childhood training, then it is not affected by the cumulative, interpretive experience of my adult life! It is not a forest floor laid down throughout my adult life!

I was crest-fallen.

So I did my PMR. Then I did my William H. Bates eye exercises… (More later! Another day!)

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Pushing ahead, with determination

Then I remembered Moshe Feldenkrais. In one of his main books, Feldenkrais argues that everything we do is conditioned to some degree by three major factors: our heritage (which presumably means genes and early environment); our education; and our self-education.

This perspective offered a glimmer of hope. Unlike Aristotle’s rather fixed view, Feldenkrais suggested that through conscious awareness and deliberate action, we can actively participate in reshaping our habits and responses, even well into adulthood. It was reassuring to think that self-education could provide a pathway towards genuine change, regardless of earlier influences.

And then I remembered that I had been a member of the International Foundation for Action Learning for a few years, about twenty years ago. And the fundamental proposition of the IFAL is this:

“There can be no learning without action, and no action without learning”!

And this gets translated into a simple model which is expressed in this equation:

L = P + Q

Or

Learning = Programmed learning + Questioning insight.

And we can translate the IFAL’s Questioning insight into Moshe Feldenkrais’s “Self education”!

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Self-education as the road to a better future

And that is where today’s action comes in. What self-educating action can I take today to move me towards the kind of future that I would like to live tomorrow; and tomorrow?

And what kind of self-educating action can you, dear reader, take today, in order to create a better tomorrow for yourself?

(Of course, it is also important to remember Werner Erhardt’s slogan: “Understanding is the booby prize!” It took me many years to figure out why understanding is the booby prize. Then the penny dropped: Understanding is the booby prize because, without some intelligent action, based on a new understanding, that new understanding is relatively useless! It takes intelligent action to turn a new understanding into a new reality!

I leave you with that thought!

And I wish you a wonderful New Year for 2026. (Knowing that it will only happen if your work for it!)

And if you want to post an answer below, please feel free. It might provide more leaf mould for my sedimentation process! 🙂

That’s all for now.

Best wishes, happy new year, and take very good care of yourself!

Jim

Dr Jim Byrne

Doctor of Counselling

ABC Counselling and Psychotherapy Services – Updated on 8th January 2026

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Postscript: How to Make Best Use of Your New Year Resolution(s) for 2026 

As you step into 2026 with fresh resolutions, remember that lasting change comes from blending intention with consistent, thoughtful action. Start by clarifying why your resolution matters to you—connect it to something meaningful in your life. Break your goal down into small, manageable steps, and celebrate progress at every stage, not just the end result. 

Make a habit of reflecting on your actions and adjusting your approach as needed.

Don’t be discouraged by setbacks; instead, treat them as opportunities for learning and growth. Surround yourself with supportive people who encourage your journey. And most importantly, focus on forming new habits rather than relying solely on willpower—true transformation comes from persistent, mindful practice. 

May your resolutions this year become seeds for growth, fulfillment, and well-being. Wishing you every success! 

Best wishes,

Jim