I wonder if we’d be so gung-ho about New Year’s resolutions if January didn’t come so quickly after December.
The holiday season, with all its fun and festivities and falalas, also gives us obligations, stress, and to-do lists (or credit card bills) a mile long. And after pushing ourselves to exhaustion or gorging ourselves on red and green candies (No, YOU ate an entire large bag of peanut M&Ms in one day!), the idea of a new day, month, year is more than a breath of fresh air. It’s a gulp of oxygen as we feel ourselves drowning in year-end excess and (often unmet) expectations.
But before we start a list of all the many, many ways we’re going to be better, do more, work hard or smarter — or both! — this year, let’s take a time out. Let’s breathe in deep our clean calendars and pretty paper journals, and let’s boil all our best intentions and goals and ambitions down a little.
I don’t know for sure about you, but I know that this time of year, as we put 2015 behind us and look forward to whatever may come in 2016, I’m tempted to forget everything I’ve learned in the past twelve months (and every year before). My knees feel weak at the thought of a few more bullet points, and I get a little breathless as I organize all my hopes and dreams and plans into the most perfect outline or spreadsheet you’ve ever seen.
Yeah, it’s true. I totally get a crush on New Year’s resolutions, the bad boy of all goal-setting strategies, the one I swear off every year because he’ll just end up hurting me. That one. Yes. I fall for his charm (and the possibilities! the potential!) every time.
And that’s why I come back to One Word 365 each year.
Please join me at (in)courage to discuss what we’re choosing for our One Words this year.
