December: Finish Strong

 

I've long admired the work of Yung Pueblo (whose pen name means "young people"). His poetry is simple, yet has a depth that inspires contemplation. Since I'm super cool and on top of all the latest trends, I follow him on a little-known platform called Instagram as well. He produces short posts of poetry or thought-provoking prose like the post above. I thought I'd share this one about December and reflect on it for my blog today. 

We tend to focus on the commercialized Christmas push during December. We so often ask and are asked, "Are you ready for Christmas?" Meaning: "Have you done enough, bought enough, decorated enough, wrapped enough stuff to be worthy of a holiday?" We are bombarded with advertisements and email promos reminding us that we have not yet done enough, or spent enough money, or lost enough weight while paradoxically not baking enough cookies. 

Reflecting?

Reorganizing?

Yeah, not so much. But when we stop to consider December as the 12th and final month of a year, and not just the month with the biggest commercial holiday of the year in it, then December takes on a different tone,  doesn't it? It actually is the perfect time to take stock of what is working, what to let go of, what to spend our energy on. 

This is a perfect time of year to "stay real about who you want to spend more time with," isn't it? As the events pile up and the party invitations come in. Think about how you are spending your time, and who you are spending it with. We have a finite amount of time allotted to us. Why do we so often give away our most precious resource to people who don't fill us up, or to devices that numb our minds?

For my own part, this call to reflection is why I love the liturgical season of Advent. Advent consists of the 4 weeks leading up to Christmas, and it's a period of waiting, of expectation, of reflection, of longing. It's the time to reflect on the year. It's an opportunity to "keep it simple and take spend this valuable time in a way that sets you up up for success next year." 

I can share a practical way to reflect on the year, especially for those who keep a paper planner (I am sure there is an electronic equivalent that my tech-savvy readers will figure out). Here's what to do:

1. Write down what you consider to be your priorities for 2024. What have you been working toward? What do you value (and thus, spend your time and energies on)? Where has your focus been this year?

2. Next, go through your planner with a highlighter. Highlight any planner entry that aligns with the list of priorities you just made. My Type-A readers can geek out with this. Financial goals could be green; fitness priorities blue -- you get the idea. 

3. Then, take a black pen (a Sharpie if you are feeling extra brave), and draw a box around any planner entry that detracted from your goals. These are the things you had to drag yourself to, because you really didn't want to do them. Or, perhaps these are the things that you felt you "should" do, to make others happy or meet some ideal you think others had for you. 

4. Finally, analyze your highlights and boxes. Avoid judging yourself, and tell that critical voice that wants to point out how you've failed this past year to, politely of course, shut the hell up. This isn't a time to judge. It's a time to assess. Possible questions to ask, to get your started:

Are there more boxes than highlights, or vice versa? 

Are there particular seasons or months where you notice patterns? 

Were there any singular circumstances, like caring for an aging parent or recovering from an injury, that were a factor? 

Do your highlights tell a story that is different from what you thought your values might be? 

Are there things that you spent your time on, like a morning routine of going for a run, that you didn't necessarily write down or track in your planner? How might those things align (or detract) from your priorities?

Now, it's time to look forward. Yung Pueblo's post is a great guide. How do you want to spend your time, as compared to how you are actually spending it? What can you do in the next few weeks to move the needle as we wrap up 2024? 

Keep it simple. 

Keep it real. 

Keep it true to yourself.