11 New Year's Eve affairs to inspire yourself and others
Until the end of December, there are very few - if in 2018 you were going to go in for sports, start saving money and learn a new language, you can already indulge in self-flagellation and put off all these bold plans for 2019. We have already figured out why many people feel melancholy before the New Year: the blame for this is the high demands on themselves, and the pressure of society (in instagram, all the merry people are being photographed at the Christmas tree, and you don’t even know where to celebrate), and the inevitable spending, and the feeling obligations, and uncertainty about the future. Nevertheless, it is possible and even necessary to raise your festive spirit and enter a new year with a more pleasant person to yourself - here are some quick and low-cost ways to feel better in the holiday frenzy.
Ksyusha Petrov
Give away something unnecessary
The best way to symbolically end a year is to arrange cleaning and get rid of everything that no longer brings joy. In the process there are a lot of things that you no longer need, but sorry to throw out. So don't throw it away: take your old clothes for recycling or give them to charity, put off the most elegant ones until the next swap party or immediately offer them to your friends. The most amazing items that you consider rubbish will be torn off with hands on sites like "Gift of gift" or "Avito" (write in the announcement "give it as a gift"). Collect for recycling old batteries, take read books to bookcrossing. It’s ready - the place has been freed, it has become easier to breathe, you have emerged as a conscious and environmentally responsible person. With such a person in the new year will live easier.
Give a gift with meaning
Stop the circulation of soap, souvenir figurines and candles with a vigorous fragrance and present something really cool, even a small one. Even for the “secret Santa” at work, you can choose something nice and meaningful - take a look at our list of charitable gifts last year or come up with something new (for example, the Udmurt grandmothers that are not on the list of socks made by Udmurt grandmothers, but pottery workshop TOK, where blind and deaf people work). If you are not burdened with the need to give presents to friends, think about strangers: Every year, Nochlezhka collects gifts for the homeless, and grandparents in nursing homes throughout Russia are desperately lacking postcards, chocolates and slippers (this is what the Foundation for Joy "). Is there a suitable charity gathering nearby? Improvise: the grocery saleswoman, where you go every day, is sure to be very happy if you buy her a chocolate bar and congratulate her on the coming day. The only thing - gifts to unfamiliar children from orphanages: philanthropists explain that episodic mass digestion rather does not help them, but hurts them.
Arrange a swimming session in love
The best way to quickly cheer yourself up is to call your beloved grandmother, who is crazy about you, and talk to her for at least half an hour. Suitable relative of any age or an old friend who loves you unconditionally and considers you the most wonderful fish in the world, no matter how hard you try to prove the opposite. Now everyone is busy preparing for the holidays and are burning at work, but there’s definitely enough time to talk on the phone. An alternative is to go visit friends who have a friendly dog and cuddle it properly. If you are prone to self-flagellation and feel especially lousy before the holidays, ask your friends to write what qualities they like - if you don’t feel like asking for compliments, you can always say that this is a task from a psychotherapist, a boss or a boxing trainer.
Write to someone you haven't talked to for a long time.
I wonder how your school friend, who moved to another city and seemed to be married, is doing? If interested - write to her and ask how are you. Think about which of the people you liked so long ago that you have not communicated with, and contact one of them. The addressee is complimentary, you are not obliged to do anything, weak social ties are strengthened, you are great.
Fix something that hands never reach
Few things bring such satisfaction, as the case brought to the end. It is unlikely that you will be able to do away with the running work projects before the New Year, but you will have time to do something small around the house: the result will be noticeable right away, and you will feel great. Finally, change the light bulb in the toilet, wash the mat out of the bathroom, buy new slippers, hem pants or stick the baseboard that you cling to for months, hurray, your house became more comfortable, and if not a mountain, then a small pebble fell off your shoulders. If after one small business there is a mood to continue - do not stop, but try not to kill much.
Make a list of your achievements
Even if someone else's "results of the year" on Facebook are besitying you, it can be useful to sum up your own - it is not necessary to publish the result at all, do it for yourself. Try to make a list of twenty things that you succeed this year - it can be "earned the first million," and "did not forget about my mother's birthday." Twenty points scored easily? Complete twenty more. An alternative option for those who are sick of “achievement” is the classical practice of gratitude: remember all the pleasant moments for which you are grateful for the outgoing year, and make a list of one hundred items. There are so many points for nothing: to fill everything, you have to remember both big events and small joys, like that unexpectedly tasty cake or the October evening, when you walked and rustled leaves with pleasure.
Plan something cool for the holidays
After the hectic December and the New Year itself, it is easy to be on the sofa without plans for the next week - in order not to run wild at home, set a day for a solo or collective appearance. See which exhibitions will be open, arrange with your friends to go to the skating rink, pre-invite everyone to your place and draw up a menu, plan a small trip out of town or buy theater tickets. It is always easier to live in anticipation of some interesting event - the main thing is not to clog the whole weekend with your affairs and leave yourself time to just lie down, this is also important.
Sign up with a doctor
Everyone has debts to their health: an analysis that you cannot pass for six months, a new mole, which it would be nice to show a dermatologist, a long overdue visit to a dentist or gynecologist. Sign up to the right specialist right now - at least in January. At the same time, check whether it’s time to change the policy or update the insurance, discard the old recipes and revise the first-aid kit to be fully prepared for the holidays.
Sorry if someone offended
Why start a year with remorse of conscience, when you can have courage and apologize? There is no need. If you suspect that a person is offended at you, but you do not understand why - ask. "It seems to me that you have become cooler with me, maybe I did something wrong?" - it is not necessary, of course, to be conducted on the manipulation of toxic friends, but it is not at all scary to sincerely ask once. If your conscience is absolutely clear, remember those who helped and pleased you this year - and thank them for their support.
Return small debts
No one has any extra money at the end of the year, but you will most likely be able to repay minor debts to friends and colleagues - remember who you owe a couple of hundred for a taxi or coffee, and give it away right now without paying attention to the statute of limitations. If a person has forgotten that you owe him something, for him it will be a pleasant surprise, and you can set yourself a mental five for honesty.
Remove all unnecessary from your phone and computer
Even if there is no force for general cleaning of the house, you can clean up the digital palaces. Disassemble unread messages and letters, delete the superfluous from the contact list, demolish applications that you have not used for a long time, and spend a pleasant evening sorting old photos. At the same time, remember the good moments of the year for point 5, and also make a backup of all the important things. At the end of December, mailings about discounts and sales begin to arrive at the post office with a tripled force — a great moment to unsubscribe from spam and start the year with a clean post and a fresh head.
PHOTO: sakramir - stock.adobe.com, karandaev - stock.adobe.com, Store.MoMA
