It is 5:59 AM; I’m writing later than usual.
Between Christmas and New Years work is extremely slow and has been so again this year. I had planned to really enjoy this time but I’m still not in the proper holiday mood. I did experience a holiday high starting a few days before Christmas but like the weekends am a bit sad that it is over even though New Years is coming up.
For us, New Years is nothing special: there are no parties, no staying up late to watch the ball drop and often not even a toast. In fact I plan to be in bed by 8:30 PM and hope all the noise around midnight doesn’t wake me up. Besides, I really don’t understand why people would want to celebrate: Donald Trump is the president and we’re going to be in for a very bad four years. The nation is still in a state of shock and media news and opinion in a frenzy trying to digest this turn of events. I do not believe the significance of this is properly realized however; America has elected its very first demagogue and it is my belief that historians will mark this as a huge slide downward from which we might not recover. The golden age of the USA was just after WWII and it looks like we’ll continue spiraling downward as a nation.
Looking at the news is very depressing: there were just a bunch of massive fights in shopping malls across the nation; greed is king and we now have Christmas starting before Halloween; race relations have regressed; people are unable to discern real news from fake news; America could be on the path to war with China; and finally the next four years could bring upheaval like the planet hasn’t seen in a while. I’m not sure what there is to celebrate going into 2017. The internet is saying 2016 was the worst, I think they will eat their words halfway into 2017.
So, given that the trifecta of Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas is now over and for all the reasons I’ve just mentioned above I’m not feeling very festive. I looked back on my previous years posts around this time and it seems I haven’t been incredibly festive for the past couple of years.
I think the only way I can change my mood is to really turn away from the news, from world events, from social media and focus a bit more on mindfulness. That is to say enjoy the moment, appreciate what is right in front of me and do not let things which I cannot control have undue influence over my thoughts. At best it is a very enlightened, spiritual way to live life, at worst it is putting my head in the sand for the next four years.
I do have to say that I started using Twitter a bit more only to see what Donald Trump is going to say. I think the entire world holds its breath every time he posts another tweet and it is both exhilarating and terrifying.
Aside from world events, 2017 is going to be a year of change for me. I’ve done very well over the past five years with the company and this year I should end up not only at #1 out of 65 or so people in my division but also finally achieve President’s Club (which I would have had earlier if they hadn’t greatly narrowed the goal posts the past three years). I’ve let my boss know that yes, I still love the company and my job but in 2017 I need to concentrate more on money whether it is through a promotion or just a massive raise.
In 2016 I was able to accomplish my personal goals, going to the gym more often, start karate, spend more time studying languages and even writing in this blog. That is accomplished and will continue so in 2017 my goal is to make more money. This isn’t out of a sense of greed, this is a fact. I’m the sole earner in the household, expenses are increasing as my kids grow up and I’ve only been able to make it work thus far because I’ve hit and exceeded goal every year. Should I not hit goal then the money would not be enough.
So the plan is to work with my current company and have honest discussions but if I don’t get anywhere then it would be foolish to not use the accomplishments of 2016 (and of the past five years which have lead up to now)as a springboard to a higher paying position.
A change in job is one of the most stressful things in life and can be quite scary but with the right mindset and planning it can go very smoothly. The past few years have been relatively consistent, things are going to be shaken up in 2017, I can feel it already.
And would you look at that: through writing this post I’m in a better mood already! I’m not going to let these next few days go to waste by being in a grumpy mood, I can be grumpy come January 3rd along with the rest of the country.
