For three weeks you were on a break, sort of like Ross and Rachel. Out on vacations or in your own home, but with family and friends, daily gatherings, without food or liquor restrictions, in the midst of the Christmas chaos that bothers and fascinates us at the same time. Then comes the first week of January and it hits without warning. You wake up from the dream, you have lost your glass slipper, the carriage turns into pumpkin and you find yourself at home surrounded by Christmas decorations that you know you have to remove at some point, mountains of laundry to do, a full inbox of work emails, bills you ignored because in December there are other priorities, back to the routine and schedules with children, and the tip of the iceberg: the extra 10 pounds that you can´t hide, when that slim waist that made you proud on December 14 is now again the infamous muffin top that you fought so hard to remove in 2016 (damn 2016.)
Then you take out the resolutions list you wrote completely drunk and five minutes before midnight on December 31, and realize that you did not think of your resolutions wisely. And since you make the promise that this year you were going to follow fully that list you start planning. Suddenly you are overwhelmed start feeling to send the resolutions down to hell.
But do not worry. Here is madre fénix back to help you. I’ve been there. Scratch that: I’m there. And I can assure you that this is the turning point, which will determine the rest of your year, because what starts wrong ends badly and you know it. We should not be overwhelmed or sad. If you pause and analyze it, you will realize that there is much more to be happy in January in spite of all the tsunami that comes to you, and that if you think and focus on the positive of this time of the year, things will be different. These 8 points will give you an idea:
- As a friend told me: “what is important is not what you eat on December but what you eat on January.” Rely on the Vegas philosophy and repeat, “what happens during the holidays…” You know that you can’t continue in the same path if you want to loose those 20 pounds you wrote in the resolutions. Of course, it will happen in January, you have to know that now, but try to at least keep the number from growing up and so the depression.
- Think of January as the first chapter of a book. You have to captivate, be strong, focus on the protagonist (you), think about questions to solve during the months that follow, what did the previous book lack? What you don’t want to repeat? The blank page is always a challenge, but it is also a gift. Do not waste it.
- December is the chaotic streets of New York. January is a beach in the Caribbean. So do not run. Resume your activities with the best attitude, calmly, because 12 months await you. Proceed with caution without the holidays high and rush. Do not feel bad if it’s January 15th and you still have the Christmas tree up. Do not wait until June either. Do I make myself clear?
- About that list of resolutions, change it if you need so. Make small modifications. It’s allowed. In fact, cross out the one that does not seem to fit and add the one that you had forgotten. There are no rules, resolutions are not the answers to that test you failed because you remembered the answers after your turned it in. No one is checking your list. Do with it whatever you want at any time of the year.
- Remember that your children returned to school. You are a mom, you know the happiness this means, and I do not need to explain this point any further.
- Think about the beautiful memories left from the holidays, because the love of family and friends is what gives us that positive energy to start a new year. It is true, you feel the loneliness, you miss the chaos and even your parent’s nagging. But right there in the middle of loneliness, you know you have people around you who love you and who you love and whom you will see sooner than you think.
- Think about the gifts you received and try them on! Also think of everything you gave and made your loved ones happy. By the way, now that your children have received more toys, it’s time to replace the ones you hate the most. Wait until they are at school and do what you have to do. No regrets.
- As a battalion at war, organize your army and plan better strategies to face the New Year. To conquer your dreams, big or small, you have to fight. So since January, grab this new year by the horns (not by where the president elects would want to grab some women) and be brave, either to go back to the gym, get back to work, or just go back to the routine. If there is a month with momentum is this. Take advantage of “the force” of January, as if you were a Jedi.
Anything else to add? Are you suffering from the holiday blues? How do you face it? Tell me and share!
