February is the shortest month of the year yet, it’s a month that leaves us feeling like a lot has just happened with much more still to come. We’ve finally gotten over the holiday and New Year hump. The Super Bowl comes and goes. Valentine’s Day sneaks up on us. We anxiously await March Madness. This year, we even have the 2018 Winter Olympics to watch with the rest of the world. February torments us with the possibility of warmer weather before yanking us back into freezing temperatures. Unfortunately, it’s also brought along one of the worst flu seasons in years.
As hectic as it sounds, February also provides a useful respite for us to catch our breath and regroup. Following January’s New Year’s resolutions, February is the perfect opportunity for an objective, reality check to get us back in gear. Hopefully, our serotonin levels are on the rise thanks to resolutions that, naturally, included a renewed, positive outlook on the future and a healthy and invigorating diet and exercise regimen. However, that may not be the case for some who find themselves feeling down before the New Year even has a chance to get out of the gate.
Perhaps their resolutions were too ambitious or not ambitious enough. Perhaps they were too vague or too limiting. Maybe they no longer feel like the right resolutions a month later. There’s nothing that says we can’t adjust or replace them. Who cares if we’ve gone off course or if we haven’t been as successful or as productive as we’d hoped? Sure, it can be disheartening not to live up to our own expectations but it beats the alternative of not trying or even having goals. Instead of getting down on ourselves or worse yet, chucking our resolutions out altogether, simply adjust and realign them as necessary.
Resolutions, priorities, and goals should not be static ideals. Rather, they should be treated like living organisms that require constant care and feeding. Their care and feeding should also be adjusted as they evolve. Recently, I had to adjust my own New Year’s resolutions because of slight changes in priorities (not goals) over the past month. After an in-depth and objective review, I quickly realized a realignment was necessary. Now, nearly halfway through February, I feel they’re back on a course that more effectively ensures I reach my goals.
James
* Note – February is also Black History Month and American Heart Month.
Follow me:
