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Joy in small wins
I was reading some of your recent January features about New Year starts, treading old ground, when I stumbled upon one of your writers whose view felt somewhat more aligned with my own.
Why is it that somewhere along the way, someone decided that the wonderful warmth, excess, fun, twinkling lights, gifts, and company of December should be promptly followed by a period of cold, bleak, darkness and hard resolutions (usually involving some form of abstinence or pain)?
It is certainly useful to recognise that seasonal excess cannot continue without some shortor long-term consequences, but to meet the joy of one way of living with the puritanical hardship of another doesn’t feel like such a sensible choice. At least this is the opinion that I am now forming.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve done it: 31 days of running every day on dark and cold football fields, with sleet falling sideways and ankle-deep puddles; the total absence of anything fun, that kind of thing. But to hell with that! I am now moving into what I think is a slightly more sensible approach.
I want to do all the things that most people resolve: I will go for the odd run and walk, do a little to eat a bit better, and reduce the excesses of life – but not in a do-or-die fashion. And if steadily, during January, I am doing a little, and mentally preparing for even more opportunities as the daffodils break through the flat, dormant, cold ground of February, when 4.15pm darkness turns into 6pm chances to be out, just imagine my growing resolve.
There is joy in small wins, slight improvements, and not being so damned hard on ourselves.
I am not suggesting that there is always an excuse for a ‘next week...’ approach, but I think the instant switch from partying to overzealous, succeed-or-fail resolution, at a time when those of us in the northern hemisphere are in something close to hibernation, is a poor concept.
Star letter
Yesterday, I went for a bit of a run. It wasn’t great, but I went for a bit of a run. I didn’t succeed or fail. And maybe tomorrow I’ll do another – and, after yesterday’s, it could be a little bit better. Now there’s a launch pad.
So I think improvement and targets are great, but factoring in real life can ease the burden and facilitate a steady, positive drive – maybe even with a smile – into spring. January is not a month to be cracked, got over, or achieved. There are 12 months in the year, and I resolve to live in them all.
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