As the two friends rode home from the New Year’s Eve party their conversations reflected the way they felt about the holiday season behind them and the next few weeks in their future. Let’s eavesdrop on their conversation.
Person #1: “I can’t believe the holidays are almost over. It is time to take down all the decorations and I dread it. The 7 pounds that I gained over the holidays make most of my new clothes unwearable. The only thing worse than going on a diet is going back to work. I will be so far behind that the first few weeks will be totally miserable. Tomorrow I will have to sit down and start paying all the bills that piled up over the holidays. I wish that I could just crawl in bed, pull the covers over my head and not get up until about April 1st.”
Person #2: “I’m sorry you are feeling so down. I am really looking forward to the beginning of a New Year. I have put on a few pounds too, but always manage to drop back to my normal weight within a few weeks because I can get back to my normal diet and not be tempted by all of those high calorie holidays foods. I am looking forward to the routine of my regular exercise which was harder to maintain over the holiday season. As far as work is concerned, I’m no further behind than anyone else in my company and I know we will all catch up over the next few weeks. My after Christmas debt dilemma was solved this year by setting up a budget for gifts and staying on it.”
What are your thoughts and feelings about the holiday season and the New Year? Can you accept the fact that there is a “normal” amount of let-down after the holiday season, but that challenges and opportunities lie ahead?
The post-holiday blahs are likely to hit those hardest who have expected the perfect holiday season and now realize that it just didn’t happen that way. The fact is, this holiday season is almost behind us and most of us had a pretty decent time. A little humor, perhaps some forgiveness and a lot of focus on the good parts of the holiday season can go a long way in helping us move on into the New Year in a psychologically healthy fashion.
For those who chose to see the New Year as a glass of water that is half full rather than half empty, the stroke of midnight on New Years Eve is exciting and full of hope. The less than positive experiences of the past year can be seen as failures and negative experiences or can be viewed as events to learn from, the potholes in the road of life which experience can help us avoid in the future.
None of us can change what has happened in 2001, but the opportunities and changes in 2002 are ready and waiting for us.
Harold H. LeCrone, Jr., Ph.D. Copyright 2001
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I’m an experienced Clinical Practitioner, Administrator, Professional Writer, and Lecturer.
