I think for many of us (correct me if I’m wrong), each holiday season and new year represents the ideal time for a little introspection (I’m doing it with the blog, please leave your thoughts). It’s a chance to really recharge your batteries, figure out what you want in life and set goals for achieving it all… in theory anyways. You will probably read plenty of articles about how 2009 can be Your Best Year Yet but how many times have you heard that phrase before? What does it even mean?
But to me there is a big problem here and I call it new years fever, let’s see if you agree with me. The levels of expectation associated with the new year are so high and that can only lead to overly ambitious goals and resolutions (and maybe lots of sweating). If you want to achieve something that involves regular focus over the next 365 days it’s not hard to imagine that when the initial enthusiasm has gone and you hit that first hurdle in your progress, you’ll fall to the ground hard. Most new years resolutions are ditched within the first month, though I’d be interested to hear your stories of resolutions and how long you stick with them.
Alternatively, as I’ve been finding to my irritation over the last few days, you might find that that need to have a personal reboot messes up what you’ve got going for you already. I’m content, I don’t need to change things too much. A little tweak here, bit more effort there, but other than that I’m good… so why the hell have I got this nagging desire to shake things up?! I blame the media, politicians, etc.
It’s with this in mind that I’m going to try something different. I’m not going to let new years fever get the better of me. In fact I’m going to stubbornly refuse to look at my long term goals, weekly planner or any other flavor-of-the-month personal growth tools. I’m going to enjoy Christmas and new year without any over-inflated expectations and then, in several weeks time, when the euthoria of the new year is well and truly behind us, I can once again think rationally about what I want in life. Now, who is with me? Merry Christmas!
December 22, 2008 at 07:46PM
I want to be with you, but I have just too much to do this year! I will still enjoy the holidays but the new year always sparks a fire in me to make it better than the last, even if the last year was pretty great. Call me old fashioned but I love the idea of a new year to get it all right you know? I hear you about resolutions though, we need to throw those away!
December 22, 2008 at 08:31PM
Thanks for the comment Jay. That fire has been sparked in me lately too but it’s unsettled me. In previous years this wasn’t a problem because I felt I needed to shake things up. However, this year I’m on a roll. I don’t want to make any radical changes but with the new years fever upon me, I have to try and not let it unsettle all my plans!
December 23, 2008 at 07:17AM
I’ve never found the festive season or new year a particularly good time to introspect or relax. With so many commitments it’s more like work rather than relaxation! I leave that till February when Easter rolls round and nobody is asking for large chunks of my time.
On the topic of next year being better than the previous one… why only do this at new year? If we’re committed to improving our lives, why not do this 24/7? Thinking about positive change at only one time in the year makes you try to change too many things at once, which is a sure way to overload and flop.
December 23, 2008 at 04:28PM
Exactly. Trying to make an entire year your best yet is silly. Anything can happen that can shake up what you perceive to be a great year or not. There is no way to objectively judge it.
December 23, 2008 at 04:48PM
I believe if we’re truly honest about making our lives and world better we must strive for continuous improvements throughout the year and not be tied to any outside calendar or expectations from others. That being said, I do find an annual review useful to make sure I am still heading in a positive direction, but I do mine in August (to coincide with my birthday). This frees me from all the new years hype that accompanies this time of year.