It’s February, folks. In most parts of the country, that means cold weather conditions have mandated more indoor time. Apart from lower vitamin D levels and drier air from a consistently running furnace, that doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing. More time indoors sometimes means more time together, enjoying the things we love to do but rarely have time to experience when we are shuffling kids to soccer and hitting up the local fair. I was singing my daughter one of her favorite songs the other night before bedtime, and it got me thinking about the start of the year, our resolutions and simply just joy. The song I reference here is the well-known children’s ballad “You Are My Sunshine, ” written in 1939 by Jimmie Davis and Charles Mitchell. The lyrics are as follows.
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are grey. You’ll never know dear, how much I love you. Please don’t take my sunshine away.
So, here’s the question I pose to you. What makes you happy when skies are grey? I’m guessing your answer isn’t clean floorboards, saving every penny and spending two hours in the gym. I’m not saying those things should be neglected, but I feel the reason 50% of New Year’s resolutions fail by January 31 is because we fail to combine those resolutions with things that bring us joy—our sunshine. So, what brings you joy? Is it watching extraction videos, playing Jenga with friends or dancing without regard? Do more of that this year along with the resolutions that are going to bring about struggle.
At this point, you might be thinking, “OK, Katie, put your money where your mouth is.” And indeed, I shall (and feel free to hold me accountable to these). My New Year’s resolutions are to have a cleaner house and to find more joy in exercise. To bring joy to cleaning, I am bringing in the two most joyful people I know—my girls. We clean together to music, as we dance, laugh and surprisingly get quite a bit done. I have also embarked upon obtaining my scuba certification, which combines my love for all things water with exercise.
It’s not too late to find your sunshine and do more of it to see success in other parts of your life. Speaking of sunshine, it’s important to remind clients that just because skies are grey does not mean that they don’t need to be wearing their sunscreen. This issue provides not only an update on sunscreen rules and regulations but also a guide on spotting skin cancer on clients to refer them to a medical professional.
Whatever your trajectory is for 2019, I hope it involves more sunshine, with proper sun protection, of course!
Yours in Education,
Katie Anderson
Senior Managing Editor
