The Pressure Of A New Year

A new year, a blank page, a fresh start.  You’ve likely heard it all.  Somehow the flipping of the calendar from 2015 to 2016 is supposed to be magical, cleansing …almost spiritual.  A chance to wash away the sins and disappointments of the past and start anew.  An opportunity to make grand gestures, huge promises and massive goals.  But what if it’s not really like that.  What if as the New Year dawned you have a different kind of feeling.  Not feelings of joy and excitement, but one of fear?  A mounting pressure to think of the perfect resolution, set goals that would impress, be skinner than ever, happier than all the rest and make more money than ever before?  To know exactly what you want and to go get it, now!

I know what I would say;

I would say you are setting yourself up for failure.

I would say you are giving into a societal pressure that is unrealistic.

I would say you don’t have too set goals that are so general, lofty and…ridiculous.

I would say it’s okay to cut yourself some slack, to give yourself a break and to simply take a breath.

I would say it’s braver to be your own person and go your own way.

I would say…it’s okay to be realistic.

In all likelihood 2015 was lovely.  It was nice.  Or it was okay.  Not perfect.  It had it’s ups and downs.  There were tears and there was laughter.  You won some and you lost some.  You had days when you bounced out of bed with a grin on your face, and days when it was hard to drag your keester out from under the warm duvet.  It was a NORMAL year.  Not a single person on this earth had a “perfect” year.  If they try and tell you they did, well, they are either delusional, or a damned liar.

I would say it’s also okay to acknowledge that January 1st was just another day.  And it’s alright to skip making the grande gestures,  setting yourself up to meet unrealistic expectations, or reach lofty goals.  Don’t know exactly what you want out of 2016?  I’d say that’s okay too.

How about we just all strive to be honest.  Be happy.  To cry a little less and to smile a little more.  To be thoughtful and kind.  To pay it forward when we can, and to accept help when we can’t.  To give, to receive and to know, it’s all going to be okay.

A little truth a lot of love from the suburbs.

Mwah