Congratulations! If you are reading this, it means that you made it through the Year of the Monkey, which for many people was a bit of a rollercoaster. As I said in my interview with Well+Good last year, monkey years have specific challenges that require us to deal with a volatile and changing landscape. We certainly experienced that geopolitically, didn’t we?

Well… I have good news!  This year is going to be way different with no more monkey business! It will be a year of intention, community building, and familiar, predictable, patterns. Welcome to the year of the Fire Rooster!

Roosters are detail oriented. They are known for their punctuality – every morning when the sun rises they sing to the world that it’s time get up and get going! They are active and hard working, and with the element of fire behind the rooster this year, we are going to see some overachievers really come into their own. Roosters also like to look good, so this year we’ll see people make an impression with humor, song, dress and creativity.

The roosters powers of observation make them good learners and very effective at doing whatever task they set themselves with conviction. This will be a year of taking a stand for what you believe in and letting your voice be heard. Be proud, be loud! Just be careful to not overdo it though. There is a fine, but important, line between having values that you fiercely defend and being a too aggressive. Don’t let ego, jealously and ferocity get the best of you; otherwise, things that you’ve worked hard for can fall apart. Honesty, generosity and a solid work ethic, taken to an extreme, can lead to overbearing harshness and even fanaticism.

From a business standpoint, the year of the rooster gives gives us the space to to be driven and career oriented. Chickens tend to flock together, so keep in mind that this is a particularly good year for team building now that the divisive monkey is out of the picture.

It is also a good time to make sure your message – as in advertising and PR – is powerful and tight. You may notice changes in people around you. People who are normally more relaxed and easy going may start to up their game professionally.

Be patient and look for patience from others. The rooster is an exhibitionist, which can be super entertaining, but it can also be exposing. Long-standing or deep resentments and other negative feelings may bubble to the surface this year, in yourself and others. Don’t have knee jerk reactions. Taking a moment to process new information will be helpful.

On a social note, roosters like hanging out with a flock. In other words they are attracted to like-minded people. Family, social connections and political affiliations are important to the roosters sense of identity and this is the year to cultivate meaningful relationships. These are powerful connections, however they can also create polarization and in turn foster hostility toward others. Be careful to not let unconscious partisanship, bigotry or chauvinism get in the way of greater connection.

This is a rich period coming up in the Chinese Zodiac. A time for developing a greater sense of both ourselves and our community. Even though Roosters (especially fire roosters!) can be loud and boisterous, this will be a warmly welcomed, more Yin period coming up to follow the jangled nerves the monkey left us with.