Are you there, 2023? It’s us, EduCred Services
A New Year provides a new opportunity for reflection, intention, and perspective. As we launch into 2023 full of optimism (albeit cautious optimism, at times), we wanted to write a collaborative post where we can each share our lessons-learned and hopes for the new year.
From Emily:
Am I thankful for 2022? Sure. Am I sorry to see the tail end of it? Heck no.
Every day of the past three months, at least one person in my house has been sick, but usually more than one. We’ve had stomach bugs, ear infections, RSV, COVID-19, and plain old garden-variety colds. My kids seem to think that bringing home every ambitious pathogen is their noble calling and, man, they have risen to the occasion.
In facing this never-ending invasion of germs (which, for the record, I imagine look like the Monstars from Space Jam—it's not strictly relevant, but it was important to me that you knew that), my emotional responses have run the gamut. None of my family have had severe complications due to illness, and I am seriously grateful for this—so much so, that at times I feel guilty for being frustrated with the constant illness. There are certainly people in worse situations. Shouldn’t I just stop whining and be thankful things aren’t worse? Maybe, but I’m not going to.
My hope is that 2023 can be a year of building resilience and candor. When situations are challenging and frustrating, or, apropos of nothing, when two kiddos with 103-degree fevers refuse to take their medicine, we’re allowed to say, “You know what? I don’t care for this. I don’t care for this at all.” Silver linings are beautiful; they’re just not always practical. Feeling the full spectrum of human emotions (especially the ones we don’t love to talk about like anger, frustration, resentment, discouragement, etc.) is good. Of course, I’m going to keep on keepin’ on; there’s not another choice. But slogging through the mud isn’t made any easier by pretending the mud is marshmallows. Tell it like it is. We don’t need to sugar-coat our experiences to make them palatable to observers. Especially because (and Susan mentioned this in her blog last week) we shouldn’t be judging each other’s experiences. As you build resilience through your year, I hope you also have the freedom to be honest about your experiences with people who love and support you.
From Andy:
All the internets seem united in the same joke/meme: That 2022 was year three of a COVID trilogy blur and we’re all still trying to process 2019. Hey, I’m all for beating a callback joke to death (See the GOAT callback joke: Paul Rudd pulling the same prank on Conan O’Brien for 17 years). However, I am hoping to approach 2023 as something new and novel, not part four of a franchise that had its quirks but I’m over it. Here are a couple of my resolutions, which I welcome everyone to join.
Balance a return to “adulting” with a healthy dose of “don’t take yourself too seriously.” For many, myself included, the COVID era became an excuse to overindulge in binge-worthy TV, desserts, and cocktails. And the more I embraced the – shall we say “opportunity” – to dive headfirst into each appeasement, what was once special became less so over time. My working theory is I’ve reached a saturation point that made season 9 of “Are You the One?” lack the appeal that season 1 so clearly had. My hypothesized solution: Inject enough restraint and variety back into my routine that a fancy infused cocktail feels special again. I certainly don’t intend to snap back to some rigid American exceptionalism that labels simple joys as guilty pleasures. I’m not looking to become a bastion of productivity or turn every small joy into a side hustle. But I want to try to find that equilibrium where frivolity feels magical again. Maybe a chocolate croissant will bring a twinkle to my eye if it isn’t the fourth one I had that week.
Explore a new or latent hobby, if only incrementally. For some, the last three years led to the discovery of new hobbies while for others it was the reason you had to pause your previously favorite thing. For 2023, my goal is to spend at least five minutes a day trying to dust off activities that used to bring me joy. In particular, I plan to try to engage with music every day – whether that is practicing an instrument, analyzing a song, or writing some lyrics. Something that is just for me, that engages my mind and wakes up a part of me that otherwise is quieted by the brisk pace of life.
For both goals above, I want to – at least start – addressing where the unique circumstances of 2020-2022 have left me off kilter. Rein in the wild swings. While embracing the ebb and flow. Seek and cherish a balanced life
From Susan:
For so many years, I have entered the New Year with goals, aspirations, and expectations, most of which slowly diminished over the last three years as the threat of COVID and potential illness lurked around every corner. Big ambitious goals became small baby steps to navigate another year just waiting for normalcy (or the pre-COVID era) to return. However, as many of us have slowly come to realize, we are living the new normal and it’s time to settle in. Given all the changes that have occurred in the past three years, we need to learn how to thrive in uncertainty, which is right up there with learning patience—it’s the worst.
As humans, we crave control and order at varying levels. But sometimes, the greatest opportunities occur when we least expect them; we just need to be prepared when they come along. This is where embracing uncertainty is easier said than done. There’s a quote from Malcolm Gladwell that I think about a lot: “Success is not a random act. It arises out of a predictable and powerful set of circumstances and opportunities.” This pairs nicely with some other (and older) words, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity” (this quote is commonly attributed to Seneca).
In 2023, let’s put the sentiments of both of these quotes to the test. We don’t yet know what the year will bring, but we do know one thing—you can only take the chance if you’re ready when it shows up.