Rebooting 2022 for Fresh Awakenings

During these final days of another woeful Covid holiday season, it can be helpful to reflect on our thoughts and what we’ve learned – about ourselves, those we’re close to, and our greater community. By doing this, we can also learn about what’s important in our lives. For instance, we might discover that what we want and what we need are very different things. The things we want might make our lives easier or make us feel better temporarily, but aren't necessary.

On the other hand, the things we need are vitally important for survival, like food, a roof over our heads, protection from the elements, running water, and electricity. But each of us also has emotional needs, like love, appreciation, and respect. If we don’t feel or can’t recall being loved by someone, we intrinsically know that we’ve missed out on something vital. If we don’t feel appreciated or respected, we can fall into the deep chasm of despair we call present fatalism. The closer we get to this black hole, the stronger its pull and the more likely we’ll get sucked in.

We can make amends, if need be, with a particularly difficult 2021 and set ourselves up for a hopeful New Year right now. Here’s how:

1. Review the Last Year. Carve out some time from your busy schedule to review the last year personally in solitude, and then, if you are in a relationship, with your loved one, a trusted family member, or a close friend. Start by taking a few minutes to relax your body and your mind. It may be helpful to take some slow, deep breaths. When you feel relaxed, think about the things that have happened over the last year – in regard to relationships, work, hobbies and enjoyments, and regrets. Recall the negatives as well as the positives, but highlight the goodies. Try not to go off track or beat yourself up by thinking about how things might have been if they didn’t go well or the way you wanted them to go. Somehow they did not go right. What happened, happened in your past time zone. If you hurt someone, make a vow to yourself to make amends as soon as possible. If you did something you are proud of, bask in the glow of heightened self-esteem. When you feel you’ve got a handle on your year-end review, share pertinent aspects with your loved one(s) – and ask them to do the same.

2. Rejoice in the Present. Hopefully having recounted the positives that have happened over the last year you’ll feel more positive about where you are now. But if you feel there is nothing to rejoice about – as many people felt about this second Covid year – you may be in a present fatalistic time zone. It is critical to realize that your life is not controlled by fates outside of your ability to change, modify, or temper what is not working for you. You are always in a position to create a better reality for yourself, even if this doesn’t seem possible initially.

We all get depressed sometimes, and when it gets bad, we are stuck in our own misery. Switch focus and take stock of all the things you have going for you in your life right now – such as family, friends, health, a roof over your head, food to eat, a job. Then start enjoying yourself — being your unique self. Make the time – even if you don’t think you have the time — to practice selected present hedonism by doing things that make you feel good about yourself and your life. Try sharing the experience with someone else:

• Take a walk in your neighborhood and say hello to those you meet.
• Play a game with family; shared online games work, too.
• Call a friend to say you’re grateful for their friendship.
• Get out in nature and wonder at its beauty.
• Give someone a justifiable compliment.
• Make and enjoy your favorite food.
• Complete a simple project that you started.

A little present hedonism will lighten your mood and give you the strength to carry on in a positive, more joy-filled fashion.

3. Plan for the New Year. Living day-to-day is how many of us get by. We think the future is too uncertain and we don’t have any control over it, so what’s the point in planning for it? When we feel this way, our present fatalism has sloshed into future negative. But by making a plan for the coming year, we gain a sense of control over our thoughts – and our future. Your plan for the coming year doesn’t have to be detailed; it can be general, and it may be more enjoyable if you include others. It could start simply with plans for the coming month or two. Here are some examples:

• Work toward improving communication skills both at home and work.
• Plan to contact those you were once close to.
• Start an indoor herb garden.
• Make plans to visit a museum and other cultural places.
• Work toward improving your health, start with a better diet.
• Read books you enjoy and enrich your life.
• Make a monthly dent in credit card debt.

• Volunteer your services in a local school, food bank, or charity.

Having a plan, even a simple one, for the next year will give you goals to work toward and a way to feel better about yourself and your life. Sharing them ahead of time with your loved ones helps insure you will accomplish them.

If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got. If the same old, same old doesn’t work anymore, maybe it’s time to do something about it. You have a choice: Continue with the so-so status quo or move forward into an up-tempo brighter future, a positive future orientation. We fully believe that the best is yet to come. How? Simply by opening yourself to embracing whatever comes your way. Finally, be your own time curator, making time for what matters most to your new self in the emergently brighter 2022.