Welcome to the future. It is either January or February in the year 2013 and raining that cold bitter rain that freezes your car doors shut and makes the morning commute a death wish. No coffee today, instead it’s morning sake and wearing yesterday’s underwear as you head to your cubicle. You’d quit because they pay you in quarters and your boss is a dictator but you have all those lingering Christmas credit card bills and a new monthly expense at your local gym. Not to mention, if you did quit you’d have to trade in your trendy-but-lonely downtown condo for mom’s basement and rules.
Oh, by the way, Happy New Year! Nice start.
For many, 2012 is probably not a lot different. Not surprisingly during the months of Blah, which tend to coincide with January and February, referrals to mental health agencies spike way up. For some reason the calendar change knocks a lot of us off our game.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
Here are 8 simple ways to take charge of the New Year.
- Start a new project. Write some music, clean the garage, or build a planter box for next summer’s patio-garden. Whatever it is, begin doing something that inspires you.
- Forget the gym and head outside. There is nothing worse than hanging out with a bunch of other depressed people in a gym. Go skiing, play some street hockey, try a polar bear swim, or just sip some hot chocolate on a winter patio. Trust me, it is way better than the gym.
- Practice a spiritual discipline. To get you started, check this out.
- Get some sleep. You partied enough through Christmas and New Years; commit your next weekend to wearing pajamas and eating breakfast foods at noon.
- Find some new music that makes you sing. Better yet, close the blinds and try dance to it. That’s what I do.
- Work less and play more. If you need some ideas on how to do this, check out The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris.
- Dream big and act small. Every big dream is made up of many micro-movements that come together to make-up something remarkable. Dream big, definitely! But make your start now, one small step at a time.
- Start planning for Valentines Day.
Anyways, it’s a new year and everyone here at Converge is hoping to make it a good one. We’ll do what we can to make you laugh, inspire you towards mission, point you towards great music, and hopefully provoke you to think. Let’s make it a great year!
