Practicing joy or New Year's resolutions a little differently this year

Christmas in front of the TV, New Year in a hangover, and the first days of the New Year in the gym... This is how one could characterize the stereotype or if you prefer the tradition I observed in Czech society during my early youth. Classic New Year's resolutions we often try to fulfill from the very beginning of the year - so we lose weight, save money, learn English, stop smoking or drinking... Only to run out of strength by mid-February at the latest and find ourselves back at square one.

 

 

As the years and experience pass, I find that a completely different style of keeping New Year's resolutions works for me personally - if you want, I'll be happy to share it now.

 

APPROPRIATE TIMING

If we look deeper into the various teachings (especially the Eastern ones that are currently in vogue), we find that in many of them, the New Year doesn't start until around Groundhog Day. After all, even our Christian tradition used to consider the end of the Christmas season to be at Groundhog Day. It is only a modern, performance-oriented society that has shortened this time of rest so that we can get back to work and produce better and faster results. But is that always a good thing?

 

We probably can't afford to take time off from our responsibilities for the whole of January, but it makes sense to start slower in the first month of the year, get enough rest (just as nature does) and take a mindset rather than immediately putting new resolutions into practice so that we know why we are doing it, where we want to get to and how we are going to get there.

 

 

SLOW CHANGE AND PRACTICING JOY

As part of my mindset training this year, I've set up something I call "joy practice". Famous motivators and leaders often advise us in good faith that if we want more, we must learn to practice gratitude for what we already have. In my experience, gratitude is a good thing, but it must be accompanied by joy. For mere gratitude often slips into the latter: "Just be glad you have this or that, the others are much worse off!" Without making light of the situation of those who are worse off - I don't know about you, but I don't find this approach to gratitude very helpful, quite the opposite.

 

I find it much more helpful to always do just one activity, to do it consciously and find what pleases me about it right now. As an example, I'll cite my resolutions this year to cut down on sugars, dairy, and gluten and start moving regularly: I enjoy trying brand new flavors when I cook, and I chose my exercise so that my little daughter could be present so I could enjoy time with her while doing something for myself. I started both around mid-January, once I had a clearer idea of what my goals were and how I was going to implement it into my daily routine. As far as exercise goes, I'm still pretty much at the beginning and I'm feeling my limitations. But I always try to find something nice about the current situation and give thanks for it in my mind. Let's try to find 10 such things each day within what we normally do - and see how many changes we really need in our lives (and where maybe we are much closer to that dream than we thought).

 

 

FOR THE NEW YEAR BY A CHICKEN STEP

It supposedly takes at least 21 days to adopt a new habit. So let's not rush ourselves, the year has 12 months and we don't have to grab everything in the first two right away. It's okay to have multiple goals at once - but let's put them into practice one at a time, preferably 21 days (or more) apart. Let's not want speed, but sustainability.

 

So, in January and the first half of February, instead of chasing quick and big changes, I'm focusing on myself - reading inspirational books (this year it's e.g. The Journey Back to Myself by Lucie König or Money to Second Place by Mark Llodybottom and Howard Dayton), setting goals and individual steps so that changes and new habits are enjoyable and not stressful for me. February is still a time for me to start gently, introducing new steps more slowly rather than more quickly, and focusing on mindset rather than practice. I'm boosting my confidence, and motivation and looking for that proverbial joy - because somehow it's harder to find in winter than in spring and summer, when nature surrounds us with an abundance of light, warmth, and color.

 

 

MOTIVATIONAL LENT

While I can say that with this approach I've already managed to make a decent dent in my lifestyle this year during January, the main work on new habits (in all areas) for me comes - as in Brazil - after Carnival.

 

Carnival for me has a certain air of something mysterious and appealing at the same time, something not to be missed. Then, when Ash Wednesday comes after the carnival revelry, and with it the 40 days of Lent before Easter, it begins a time for me when I stop focusing so much on myself and my mental well-being, and start introducing new habits at a slightly faster pace. I'm linking them to goals I want to achieve and trying to make sure that doing them benefits not only me but others as well. It's logical - we have more energy as we get more light, and so the individual practices are much easier and faster to fulfill. In addition, the Christian subtext of Lent helps us to concretize the tasks leading to our goals in a way that is beneficial and so-called overlapping. Those who abstain from sugar, for example, can save the money saved for each unpurchased sweet in a piggy bank and donate it to someone in need at the end of Lent. Those who want to move more can combine a brisk walk with a visit to someone who lives on the other side of town and who would appreciate our visit. There is no limit to your ingenuity - and if you do it right during these forty days (after two months of mental preparation), know that you will reap the first fruits of the desired changes during the Easter season, plus you will have the energy you saved over the winter to continue your new and better habits over the summer!