The Productive Pessimist

  "Remember; January is still  winter! It's unnatural to be making changes and starting things! The world is telling us to be cosy in bed and rest!" I've been seeing this a lot in the past few days, when it hasn't been present in past years as an anti-New Year's Resolution; previously, the counter to "new year, new me" was simply "Hey, if you don't want to make any resolutions or changes, that's cool, you can look back on the things you're proud of, and want to carry on doing." I'm much more in favour of the latter position than the former. The former position, that we just can't possibly be expected to do anything at this time of year , and people are literally being abusive sadists for expecting us to manage basic adult responsibilities "because still winter! Waaaahhhh!!!" Yes, January 1st is an arbitrary date to start a year. But so is February 2nd, March 31st, or the fifty-nevernth of July. Not ...

  We're roughly a week away from "full-on" festive season for many people.  For my household (Pagan - eclectic in general, with Norse leanings on my side, and Celtic on my wife's) we're just five days from Solstice, our winter celebration. For those who are mystically inclined, five is a dynamic number, promising positive change through effective communication - so, five days before one of my major points of celebration seems a good time to talk about the power of Productive Pessimism, and encourage you to consider making a booking for 2024 - or sooner, if you're ready for change right now! How Can Pessimism Be Productive?! I know what you're thinking - "Pessimism isn't productive! I don't want a bunch of Negative Neils whinging on around my ideas and projects!" Absolutely - nobody wants a Neg coming in and being a killjoy. That's not what Productive Pessimism is about - pessimism is "the expectation that bad things will happen...