Keep the Good Cheer Going!
Hey guys, I started writing this in a FB post and it got sort of long, so I made it a blog. It’s just a bit of advice and thoughts regarding the new year and the concept of New Year’s Resolutions. I hope it helps you, or at the very least entertains you. Happy Yule!
Kevin’s Advice for the New Year: Ok so everyone’s getting started with the new year tomorrow. We’ve all likely enjoyed a nice long weekend and if you haven’t know off the bat that that sucks and I’m sorry and also, maybe get a new job, because wth?. First things first: I’m an Asatru Pagan, which means that I celebrate Yule, which is basically Christmas Sans Christ. Tree, Gifts, Good Cheer, Fellowship, all the good stuff. Thing is, for me (and for a LOT of other Pagans too) the season isn’t over. It technically doesn’t even start until like my birthday around the 20th or so and it keeps going until the end of January. I personally choose to celebrate starting the day after thanksgiving, to keep that sort of thankfulness and good cheer going, and keep it going until some time I feel like in February. This is where my first piece of advice comes from. KEEP THE GOOD CHEER AND FELLOWSHIP GOING! It’s so disheartening to go out in January and see all the decorations gone almost immediately and everyone seems so ready to “get back to normal”. This is not a good thing. We all NEED that positivity more in January than any other time (ESPECIALLY November where it is more often than not intrusive) as it is the coldest and darkest time of year and, for most, filled with depression. So leave your lights up. Leave your tree up. Give out those last minute, even afterthought gifts to people. A little love this time of year can REALLY change a person’s outlook and make their day. Let’s not let December be the excuse for being nice to people. KEEP showing kindness and generosity, even and ESPECIALLY if it is generosity of spirit. So #1, keep the good cheer going.
Number 2! This goes along with it being cold and depressing outside. STOP STARTING THE NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS RIGHT OUT THE GATE! They are something that is for the entire YEAR, you have the time!. Let yourself fall back into normal work patterns and eat off the last of those Holiday goodies! I still got 2-3 boxes of Red Velvet Christmas Tree Cakes, and I’ma eat ’em, you best believe! Enjoy the fruits of last year’s labors! Stop shopping on Black Friday and shop NOW. This is when everything is ACTUALLY cheap and not just imaginary cheap. THIS is the time to buy decorations and such for next year’s festivities for sure. Have a big dinner at a friend’s house and play games (or whatever activity that you enjoy). Indulge and enjoy it, because the fact is, most people try to get started with the whole weight loss thing WAY too soon and it almost NEVER works out. I think the main reason for this is that we kind of track years based on the Julian calendar which is frankly counter intuitive. It’s too cold and dark outside for most people to dedicate themselves to any kind of physical activity whole heartedly and most everyone is so car crazy with all the weather that we all get sort of frustrated at each other with the added stress of trying to care about exercise. For the purposes of your own personal growth, I suggest starting the new year in like mid March, or even April, at the TRUE beginning of the seasonal cycle. The last of the winter chill will be shaken off and you will feel SO much more ready for it. If you want to go hard core, start in February, by the time March rolls around you’ll be ahead of the curve, but PLEASE stop trying to lose 100 lbs by Valentines Day. It doesn’t do a damned thing but make you feel sad and unattractive. Which is a shame, because you’re all gorgeous.
Number 3! ANY PERSONAL GROWTH IS A VICTORY! If you eat ONE less cookie, If you take the stairs one more time than you did before, if you hold your tongue or speak your voice one more time than normal THAT IS A VICTORY! You are not a loser because you didn’t treat every single person with more deference, or lose three inches off of your waste, or finish that novel you’ve been working on (easy for me to say I know). If you have made even the smallest inch toward your goal, you have WON. Don’t let anyone tell you different! You can do even one of the things on it NEXT year and that is progress! Especially if those things are cross offable tasks or goals. Go ahead and write a list of all thatyou want to accomplish. Try and calendarize it. If you do what you planned to on the day you planned to do it, put a check mark on that day instead of an X. At the end of the year, count up your check marks. If you have more than zero, guess what? You’re fucking rock star astronaut ghostbuster ninja pirate jedi! Eve if all you manage is to make a list of all the things you plan to do THIS year, well guess what you DON’T have to do next year? Make that list!
I know I’m referencing exercise a lot in this, and that is because weight loss is the most common New Year’s Resolution. But this advice can be applied to almost any other resolution. At the end of the day my point is only this: You have all the time in the world to do all of those things you plan to. Right now when it is still cold and dark and kinda sad, spend time with those you love and who love you, doing things you both like to do. Don’t let the magic of the good cheer of Christmas get lost in the pandemonium of a not so new year. I love you all and you are ALL beautiful and wonderful. Happy Yule and Solstice and Happy not-so-New-Year!
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