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Have a happier new year.

Quit vaping. Start making big money in the stock market. Quit dating losers. Start learning how to code.
2022 is here, and with it the pressure to halt all our bad habits, right all our wrongs, improve our posture and lose 15 pounds.
But is attempting the impossible the best way to start the day, much less the decade? We think not. In our view, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with ringing in the new year by eating an extra helping of gourmet chocolate while watching reruns of “30 Rock”.  (If that’s what you enjoy doing, of course.)
Here’s the resolution the SuperOptimist always adopts, whether it’s New Year’s Day, Arbor Day, All Saint’s Day, or just another Wednesday: “All is well, life is swell, and I’m good just the way I am.”
By starting the new year accepting every screw-up, flaw, and mistake as the price of being human, you have a 130% better chance of enjoying the first days of the new year.  So ignore all those life coaches with their exhortations to improve everything about yourself.  If they want to drink celery juice and get on the scale five times a day, that’s their problem, not yours!
Remember, the definition of resolution is “the firm decision to do or not do something.” Why not make a firm decision to make no decisions about your future, and enjoy the first month of the year without putting undo pressure on yourself?
By starting 2020 this way, you might find this turns out to be “your year” after all.*
*If you are compelled to figure out how to improve your life in 2022, we suggest looking back on what worked in 2021.  Here’s a short quiz to separate the pluses from the minuses. By doubling down on the good stuff, you’ll assure yourself of more personal victories in the coming year.
MY PERFORMANCE REVIEW 2021
 What was the best thing I experienced in 2021?
 What was a huge waste of my energy?
 What activity gave me the most pleasure?
 What was my bravest failure?
 What can I try that I haven’t?
 What error can I avoid now that I see it?
 What did I fear in 2021 that I survived?
 Did I handle the bad shit well?
 How many times did I feel joy?
 Who did I like hanging out with?
 Who would I prefer never seeing again?
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There is no “Plan B.”

Elvis in "No Plan B"

Frequently, you’ll hear someone say: “And if that doesn’t work — we’ll proceed to Plan B.”

But isn’t this simply preparing for failure? Fear that Plan A won’t work. Fear that something may go wrong.  

When other people sense that you doubt your course, they, too, become afraid. Imagine you’re a passenger in an airplane and the captain comes on the intercom and says:  “We’ll be landing soon at O’Hare International Airport — unless I can’t get the wheels down — and if that’s the case we’ll go to Plan B.”  Nobody really wants to hear someone say that. 

The SuperOptimist is of the mind that all energy down to our very last molecule should be focused on achieving the primary goal — and that any time spent planning for failure, setbacks, or humbling defeat only activates fear. Our conclusion: any Plan “A” is superior to every Plan “B.”

We feel so strongly about this maxim, we’ve created a t-shirt in its honor.

NOTE: If you don’t have a “Plan A,” go get a darn good one.  With a solid plan, karmic forces will line up behind you and see that you have good luck on your side. We’re with you.

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Break a record today!

Thinking that life has become pretty routine? Wondering if the world will ever recognize your accomplishments in middle management? Concerned that your obituary will read like a boilerplate legal document? If you want to leave a mark before you go, we suggest getting your name in the record books.

For world-class athletes like sprinter Usain Bolt and tight-roper Nik Wallenda, attempting to break a new world record in their respective fields requires a great deal of intense training and unwavering focus. Luckily for the rest of us mere mortals, there are hundreds of other less glamorous records out there begging to be broken by anyone with a pulse.

How about “most t-shirts put on at one time. (current record: 31) Most tennis balls held in one hand (Current record: 26).  Fastest time to assemble a Mr. Potatohead while blindfolded (current record: 16.17 seconds). Most apples crushed with bicep in one minute (current record: 8). Fastest time to duct tape a person to a wall (28.53 seconds).  Most pieces of pumpkin pie eaten in 10 minutes (48, or 16.8 lbs. of pie).

Better yet, make up your own amazing feat to astound and delight.* Remember, all records start with envisioning the impossible, and then determining that you can overcome the odds.

*How about “most superoptimist.com blog posts read in a single sitting?” (This record is up for grabs, as far as we know).

 

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What Mother Bush taught us.

In the midst of all the tributes to the former First Lady and mother of “W.”, we couldn’t help but wonder how this woman survived in the midst of two Georges and a Jeb.  So we did a little research and found this quote from her:

“The darn trouble with cleaning the house is it gets dirty the next day anyway. So skip a week if you have to.”

It seems that Babs overcame society’s push towards having everything neat and tidy (which, as we all know, life never is). One could also extrapolate this to include work, eating vegetables, and returning phone calls from the IRS.  We applaud her for turning her back on such small-minded thinking in favor of letting her freak flag fly — as well as not dying her hair or getting any botox (that we know of.)*

*As for her politics, well…as Babs also said, “I don’t like attacking.” So we’ll leave it at that.

 

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