Invite change to be your 2019 friend

On this day after Christmas, you can enjoy the calm after the storm. Relax and rest. While you are recovering, write the answer to two questions:

1) What awesome things did I do this holiday season worth repeating next year?

2) What did I do that was not worth the cost or effort?

Write your responses today while the festivities are fresh on your mind. Before stacking your decorations away, tape the answers on top of your last box. When you dig the storage containers out next year, you will immediately see what to do and what NOT to do.

I love Christmas, but I can clearly remember exhaustion after the fun. The calm was brief at best because I still had days of getting the house and yard back to a state of normalcy. Today, it seems Christmas comes around every month or two.

Years ago, I changed my annual routine from having a tree and all the trimmings every year to every other year. On the off year, I would buy poinsettias and call it good.
Holiday traditions have changed over the years. Today, I primarily enjoy everyone else’s twinkle lights, majestic trees, and traditional baking masterpieces. It now takes less than an hour to replace my Christmas decor with the usual standbys.

We must allow ourselves to embrace change. Inflamed joints, thinning hair, age spots, and thicker waistlines prove change is inevitable. Years, as they come and go, help us recognize the need not to fight change.

As we run lower on energy, we must compensate by reevaluating what matters and spend our declining reservoir of stamina on what contributes to the life we desire.
Change is challenging. It is difficult to admit we can’t do everything. For example, hopefully, you will never find me on another ladder. I acknowledge my limitations and want to minimize serious injury. For the same reason, I won’t buy twelve-foot trees or hang lights from the roof.

Do I miss those glorious family and friend celebrations in a beautifully festive home? I do. But, I also enjoy learning to celebrate and appreciate the season while approaching it differently. Maybe it could be called growing-up, maturing, or just simple logic.

Socrates said, “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”

As we close out 2018, cherish the memories, and invite change to be your 2019 friend.

Until the next time: Live while you live.

Jennifer Goble, Ph.D., LPC, is the author of “My Clients…My Teachers,” and the blogger and writer of Rural Women Stories: www.ruralwomenstories.com.

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