Published:
11/02/2011 03:55pm
5 Strategies for a Happy New Year!
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5 Strategies for a Happy – not Crappy – New Year
by Erika Oliver, MPA
The first few weeks -- even months -- of a new year are usually filled with hope and optimism. Hope for positive change is combined with renewed energy to make it happen. Gyms fill to the brink, homes begin a declutter process, and ambitious personal and work goals are set. Then something happens -- your child gets sick, a fire needs putting out at work, the vacuum cleaner breaks -- and the hope and energy go away. You are left with a gym membership, bagged clothing to be taken to the local charity, and a feeling of being overwhelm at the goals that felt so doable just a few days prior. In the word of the famous philosopher Charlie Brown, “Ugggghhh!”
So, how in the face of “life” do you maintain the New Year hope and positive energy? How do you find the time, energy and space to make adjustments, to change habits, and work toward new goals? You take a little bit of that start-of-the-new-year fairy dust and keep it with you each day.
Here are 5 strategies to bring New Year excitement to every day -- the first day, the 33rd day, and the 354th day!
#1 Keep it ridiculously simple. It’s common advice to break things into smaller tasks but people rarely start small enough. Start by doing way less than you think is possible – make your changes ridiculously simple - and then build up. Plan to pull into the gym parking lot two days a week for the first two weeks. Just drive there and you have achieved your goal! If you get out of the car and walk in, terrific. If you decide to “do something”, that's great. But, the only thing you are required to do is drive there and you can do it any time of any day.
#2 Greet the new you every day. With our routines each day seems similar to other days. Each meeting, class, dinner or sporting event appears “usual” but it’s not. Every day – actually every moment – is brand new. The same is true for people. There is a new you every day – a new person who has integrated more learning, had new thoughts, and has changed on a cellular level. Greet the new you every morning with “Hello! I am so glad to meet you.” It’s a reminder that anything is possible today, even a major change that didn’t seem within your reach just a few hours ago. When asked “How are you?”, one of my friends responds, “There is a new me every day!”
#3 Keep the party going. It is normal to celebrate during the holidays – presents, special visits to friends and family, games, and time off. Make celebration the norm and not the holiday exception by adding a little “party” to each day. Keep holiday lights up, continue to catch up with family and friends, make special or favorite foods, or wear your holiday pajamas. Make a list of the holiday events and happenings you most look forward to and think about how you can keep a little bit of each going in the New Year. I like connecting with friends from the past, long distance family members and past clients so I send unusual holiday greetings at Valentines, Easter, Boss’s Day, and other less noticed holidays to keep my party going.
#4 Ramp up your gratitude practice. Post holiday season can be a real let down and negativity can get a stronghold before we know it. Cold weather, tax time, and unexpected challenges make the negativity stand out while all the positives are hidden in negativity’s shadow. Our family shares 3 good things about the day at the dinner table all
