Happy December!
A crazy time of year. The perfect time to reinvest in the things that support you the most.
Twitter has become a cesspool of ugly, your crypto stocks have tanked, your career is ‘meh’, you forgot to go to the gym for the 3rd year in a row, and to top it all, your Christmas tree is wonky and you just don’t care.
Time for a bit of a reset.
At this time of year - the last month of the calendar - it seems like the absolute worst time to try to do anything different or to step back and reconsider...anything. There are school plays to attend, holiday gatherings, shopping to do, cookies to bake, the house to decorate and…all the things.
But I’m going to challenge you that it’s actually the very best time. When things get crazy, it so much more impactful to hold up your hand and call ‘time-out’, then when you’re already in a lull. Plus you get a jump on all those chumps waiting for ‘New Year’s resolutions’ before doing anything! Ha!
I challenge you to find two days this month - say two Wednesdays - just for you. Yes, take a day off work if you need to (just for you, not because the family has something going on), and spend one of the days doing something just for fun (ideas below), and during the other one find somewhere quiet, maybe a favorite coffee shop, and consider a few questions (some fun, some serious!):
What did you achieve this year? Be honest - there will be plenty of things. Work hard on this one. Make a list. It’s so much easier to list all the things we didn’t do, but realizing what we did do, even the small things, builds its own energy and momentum. Next to each one write why this was so great.
What did you do on your birthday?
Are you feeling less or more energized than this time last year. Why? What’s different? Your health? Your job? Your own goals or routine? What’s not different and is starting to feel a bit stale?
What was the best thing you bought or invested in this year?
What are you better at today than you were on December 1st, 2021?
What’s one thing you could stop doing? Right now. Is it a habit? A chore you could pass to another family member or hire someone to do instead? A person you want to stop hanging out with? Something you spend money on that you could stop? Start small - make it doable.
What’s one (great) thing you could start right now? A book you’ve been meaning to read? A meatless Monday? A dollar-a day into a jar? Taking at least 30 minutes for lunch? A weekly yoga class? Don’t make it too hard. Just something that can be started this week and that would be fun or interesting or energizing.
Now consider 2023.
If you could be just a bit better at just one thing by December 1, 2023, what would it be? Baking? Photography? Lifting weights? Making your computer do what you want it to? Saving money? Identifying trees? Playing the fiddle? This is not a goal to be an expert and it’s not encouraging you to pick 50 things….just one thing. Part of the point of this is to prioritize. We often feel a lack of energy when we’re focused on too many things and not making progress on any of them, especially the fun ones.
What do you want to do on your birthday next year?
What could you do to increase your income or decrease your expenses by 10%? (or a combination).
If you could only be in touch with 5 people over the next year, who would they be?
What are you most excited about this coming year?
Now, assuming you’re in a coffee shop, go get yourself a piece of pie and congratulate yourself for taking this time for yourself and your life!
You don’t have to immediately make a plan to achieve or change stuff, but just sit with your answers for December. Then perhaps during the New Year break, consider some priorities for 2023.
And one more time: this is not making huge commitments that you will fail to stay with by January 15th, this is about identifying and prioritizing what (and who) most supports you - your creativity, your energy, your sense of fun - and then making the time and space for a few of them.
Your next chapter is part of all of our next chapters.
Fun ideas for spending a day just for you! (Yes, this is uncomfortable, and feels a bit silly or self-indulgent for some of us….but that’s exactly why we should do it).
Take a hike (even if it’s cold and snowy - layer up and take a walk)
Treat yourself to lunch somewhere lovely
Browse a bookstore
Watch a matinee movie solo or with a dear friend
Spa-time! Book a massage, or pedicure, or even just a hair appointment at a nice salon
Take a drive to explore a new neighborhood or a nearby town you’ve never been.
Find a pond and feed some ducks, take a camera.
Find a paint-your-own-pottery place and go crazy.
Buy yourself some flowers
If you can stay home while no-one else is there, you could find some old magazines and clip out pics for an ‘inspiration board’ , or bake, or clean out your closet, or plant some herbs for the windowsill (but nothing that feels like a chore, and I’d personally encourage you to get out of such a familiar space, for just a day)
Here’s to a great December!