There are times when a fresh start is needed. New year, new things. Especially when everything gets a little “too comfortable”. I’ve dealt with this feeling of emptiness every now and then—you do a lot, take a break, and don’t know where to go after that. The business that arises before the holidays gets you into a groove and everything just seems to get done and you’re able to push through; then you sit on your couch, eat a lot, and hope you can return to the same flow. But why do we have to settle? Isn’t always staying productive good?
This is called the January Slump.
Everyone returns back to work, school, commitments, responsibilities, deadlines, healthy routines, and manageable, guilt-free eating habits. Not everyone “resumes” the same time, either, so the first couple weeks of January are a drag. Hell, it’s made me even rethink about what I’m even doing with my passions and aspirations. So much time off has been refreshing, but rather too self-reflective.
Promise of the new year has me and everyone else hopeful and wishful that there is change ahead and the past can be forgotten—a chance to move on. With resolutions to share and obsess over, no one settles for just being enough and okay as they are. No need to change yourself or improve, just be. “Oh I need to lose weight this year,” “I have to cut back on spending so much money on clothes,” “I’m going to be stress free,” and every other thing I’ve heard. I’ve made resolutions and goals, but it just doesn’t work.
New diets, getting back into shape, putting your “best self” forward, and all that seems so easy when you can turn the page and start over. It’s intimidating, really. And to think that people can simply just turn on the switch and totally become a “new and improved” version of themselves seems fake. I’m constantly f*cking myself over again and again, wishing I could hit a reset button sometimes, but life is not like that. New years can be manipulative.
Now, don’t get me wrong – I have much I want to do and achieve moving forward and am hopeful for what’s to come like everyone else, but dwelling on specific goals and resolutions will eat you. There’s so much to look forward to, but acknowledging your worth and knowing that you are good enough now, flaws and all, will prove that you don’t need to resolve a thing.
As you begin to get back into whatever groove that makes you thrive, remember that you need to let yourself transition and grow. Don’t force it just because your calendar told you to.