Make a Decision for the Last Six Weeks of the Year
The rest of November and December, which includes Thanksgiving and the swamp of religious ceremonies, rampant consumption and insane eating, often feel like washing dishes. New Years Eve is a shining beacon, a time where we will kick out all our dirty habits – so why bother now? Because setting permission before permission can still change some aspects of your life.
Several years ago, I started setting myself goals for Thanksgiving before New Years. At first, I just got tired of sliding into the decline of EOY, marked by too much alcohol, too much food and promises that I would be in the gym on January 1st (or at the latest, 2nd). Creatively, I would also stop. Everyone’s too busy! New projects cannot start on public holidays. Why bother? It’s a depressing space to live for most of the year, but we all tend to do so. This is why you should stop.
Six weeks is a long time
If you do something diligently for six weeks, you will get better at it. During this time, you can develop a habit that will have an effect. Learn the basics of playing a musical instrument, write a chapter in a book, start jogging in the morning – whatever it is, if you start on Black Friday and keep up with the New Year, you’ll see some significant improvements.
It could be something small
The holiday fog is about to begin, so if you decide to set a goal right now, even a small one will be better than a regular decline. Maybe you want to keep a diary every day, read two books, volunteer. Do something new that you’ve been putting off for a long time. See what you can do right now instead of waiting for a symbolic reset. A successful small step often inspires us to do big things.
This is a warm-up
In fact, the most important thing is New Years. Yes, New Year’s promises are commonplace and are often discarded before the earth melts. However, they are still ubiquitous: we want to believe that we can change. We deserve to believe that we can change for the better, and if you cheer yourself up with a warm-up, it will help you with that. This could mean that you are more optimistic about your big goals for 2019 and moving forward. You’ve done a lot in six weeks; what can you do in a whole year?
Less pressure
You don’t even need to tell anyone about your prior authorization! It is true that sometimes announcing my intentions helps me to realize them. Few cares about what you do to improve yourself or your life, but there is a responsibility to be public for your efforts. At least you get a little embarrassed when something fails. This is one of the reasons why there is so much pressure to talk about resolutions in the first place.
However, some of us don’t thrive under pressure. Nobody even thinks to ask you what is your year- end decision, so there is no reason to talk about it if you don’t want to. This is a private enterprise that can ultimately bring a good mood. Or not, in which case you can shout from the rooftops about your intentions for the next year.
It’s just better
The end of the year is difficult. You reflect on what has happened to you and the world. The world is really hard now. It might be nice to imagine 2018 as already lying in the trash can, where it belongs, but in reality, time is meaningless. Throwing away almost one-sixth of a year is just throwing away your life and the potential it still offers you.
Allow yourself to think about what else you can do with this time, instead of falling into a hole from which you have to dig in January. Unlike most resolutions, which imply improvement without an end date, you need to do whatever is there for a month and a half. It’s not that long and all the time in the world.