Do you know the empty feeling when January starts and the celebrations become a distant memory? I do as well. Getting back to normal is the other side of the coin that waits after the best month of the year — every single year.
I know I shouldn’t worry too much in advance, but I thought it would be useful to cover this topic a little. Even if the darkest part of the year is over by then, the fact is that there will still be several months of cold and dark winter ahead. Easter is ages away and summer even farther, so how do we cope?
Of course, there are special days throughout the year; at least Valentine’s Day and Shrovetide (in Finland this means eating buns) take place relatively soon after Christmas, but neither of them is particularly dear to me, to be honest.
So, personally, I feel that January is a great time to focus on your own personal goals. I suppose that’s what people often do because of their New Year’s resolutions and such, but now that I think of it, it makes sense — at that time of the year, you actually have time.
I’m not the biggest fan of making resolutions. I’m someone who gets a huge motivational boost from making them, but that never lasts. It’s much easier for me to start big, lasting things at some other point.
So, what are my own goals for next year? No one will be surprised when I reveal that I’m planning to run long distances. I’ve already signed up for a race or two, so I’ll continue training for them with vigour. However, despite having a very demanding programme, I really hope I can take a session or two to try something else as well. This winter, I also plan to enjoy all the winter sports I end up doing too rarely: skating, skiing, and alpine skiing!
I’m a bit amused that all my plans include sports and food. I really wish there were more time and energy to do all kinds of things: play more chess, play more piano, watch all the TV series other people are constantly talking about, maybe do more baking as well, continue learning languages… But the fact is that we only have limited time, and at least I am already doing a lot. It is wise to accept that there is a limit to how much one person can achieve, so what I am doing is definitely enough.
Do you have plans for next year already? Do you feel like you are too ambitious with your plans, or would it be better to plan a bit more?
Leave a Reply