Every time around the holidays, it is as though I can barely catch my breath. Running around like a chicken without its head might be an easier description. With all of the added responsibilities, the holidays can prove overwhelming. Often our most treasured time of the year, we fall in love with the twinkling Christmas lights, steaming hot cocoa, and the smile on our family's faces as they open your gifts. Yet with this is accompanied by high expectations to appease everyone. While already juggling life's daily tasks, you find yourself spending many more nights out and fewer hours sleeping.
Despite the crazy chaos, I love every minute of it. I love being preoccupied with random Christmas goose chases. However following the holidays, life seems frozen in time. There is this small window of opportunity post-Christmas and pre-New Year's where we reflect on the past year and how to prepare fortune to come in the following year. It is this miraculous moment induced by self-motivation to change and improve that within 24 hours, we make a conscious decision to turn over a new leaf.
Most often, New Year's is ridiculed by these ludacris resolutions people attempt to embrace with the coming year. Let's be honest, January is one of the most populated times for signing up for a gym membership. There is this assumption that January 1st is merely another day on the calendar, and this magical ability to jumpstart change is exactly plausible.
Well, that's if you let that mindset consume you. Anyone can change at any time, but New Year's manages to give us the perfect excuse -- and hey, I'll take advantage of that.
I guess I am a part of some unique circumstances to tag along with 2017's transformation into 2018. Recently graduating college and beginning a full-time job, my lifestyle will find itself in disarray fairly quick if I don't accommodate for all of the changes. Beyond ecstatic, I will embrace these changes will full force. Trading in late night study sessions for cooking new dishes and investing in myself, I am beyond excited. Finally, my life will be a little more organized and my New Year's resolutions are such a great possibility.
Organizing a schedule, caring for myself both mentally and physically, and taking time to embrace the spontaneous. That's not to say these pieces of my life have been nonexistent until now, simply neglected. I can invest more in cooking while learning more beneficial life skills for living on my own rather than having my nose buried in a textbook. While I'm obviously excited about the good, I am also excited to tackle the hiking trails more often, see what is out there, and conquer a new aspect of my life.
No matter what part of life you're experiencing, take advantage of the opportunities the universe places into your lap. Whether you decide to believe in the New Year's clichés or categorize the holiday as just another day, maybe try something new. Don't create some absurd changes that will lead to failure, but create realistic expectations for self-improvement. Whether it be investing in your adventuring or organizing the chaos of life, embrace the New Year. Embrace change as it is a constant in your life.