Guest: Don't let Mr. Grinch steal your inner peace. Resolve to kick him to the curb
Happy New Year! Time to put away the decorations, vacuum the living room and kick back for some “me” time. The house is yours, again.
Life can return to normal. Sit down and breathe. Put up your feet and enjoy life in the new year.
After a few seconds, open your eyes. Feel refreshed? Heck no.
What’s nagging at you? Is your brain full of spiders? Are there termites in your smile? Is your heart an empty hole?
Clearly, you’re suffering from the ongoing nagging interference of Mr. Grinch ― he really is a heel.
Mr. Grinch interference can produce a state of depression that hits many this time of year. We feel loss, failure and loneliness. Experts tell us our bodies might be short on cortisol, dopamine and serotonin. The advice is to get more sleep, drink plenty of water and connect with people who nourish you. Wait a minute. That will take much too long to accomplish.
On the other hand, I contend there is a quicker fix and one that is much more satisfying.
The culprit driving moments of solitude is none other than the big green, furry Mr. Grinch. After all, he’s unemployed this time of the year, after stealing Christmas from us in December. It’s a fact Mr. Grinch is still hanging around looking for mischievous ways to catalogue regret and despair. He intends to bury us in early 2024. Bad, bad Mr. Grinch.
He’s collecting unmet expectations and feelings of guilt over holiday overindulgence. He’s already casting a spell by sending negative vibes into our lives.
We’d be much better off if this ugly green meanie would implode in the new year. He needs to quit bothering us and refocus energy on his own image and reputation.
Perhaps he can find the time to get a much-needed manicure or see a doctor about a nose job. He must get that silly snippet of hair resembling a sick ponytail lopped off the top of his head.
Yet, he’s obstinate and won’t consider any self-improvement.
Research indicates there is a way to get Mr. Grinch to go away in 2024. Listen up. He will go away only if each of us has declared a realistic New Year’s resolution. Science tells us that positive commitments serve as kryptonite to Mr. Grinch and will deprive Mr. Grinch of his powers over us, at least in the short term.
Standby, Mr. Grinch. We know that any positive resolutions for mankind we choose will transform you into a muddy, puddle of dirty water. You will be gone for the rest of the year.
It’s settled. We must figure out a plausible New Year’s resolution we can be proud of and shout it to the world.
Unless we act now, Mr. Grinch will sabotage our inner peace for who knows how long into 2024.
Resolve: Kick Mr. Grinch to the curb. We’re through with him.
Andrea Chancellor has more than 20 years in newspaper and magazine journalism and 20 years in public relations.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Don't sabotage inner peace in 2024 with unrealistic resolutions
