The month of the year is neither here nor there

Pressure is a choice.

The reason you’re overwhelmed isn’t because it’s a particular month of the year. The calendar isn’t to blame for being tired, unproductive and stressed.

Because anyone can make a convincing argument that every month sucks.

Here, watch.

January is physical and emotional hangover month, coming off the heels of the stressful holiday season.

February is our failed new year’s resolution month, creating our collective shame of having overly ambitious goals for the year.

March is spring break month, where scheduling conflicts disrupt everyone’s schedules.

April is tax month, where the financial gravity of our civic duty weighs heavily on our hearts and wallets.

May is the homestretch of the schoolyear, where the chaos of summer vacation planning takes its toll.

une is the last lap of the first half of the year, where everyone scrambles to plug any remaining holes in their unfinished projects.

July is summer vacation month, where people are partying, sunburn and totally unmotivated to snap back into work mode.

August is national blah month, where nobody is even in the office, business screeches to a halt and we’re all in denial that the summer is almost over.

September is back to work and back to school month, where change is crisply in the air, and the anxiety about the fourth quarter looms.

October is major project month, as the fiscal year kicks off, budgets are formulated and we feel pressured to get into high gear.

November is consumed by holiday planning and pre traumatic stress, as people look up from their desks and wonder where the hell the year went.

December is basically two weeks long, giving us one last chance to reach our goals, which is almost impossible considering all of the stress eating, sedentary behavior, excessive drinking and shopping we do.

Happy new year everyone!

Clearly, pressure is an elected attitude. What we experience emotionally is the result of our perceptions, expectations and way of being with life.

It all comes down to situational appraisal. If we’re always complaining that we don’t have enough time to finish our creative projects, then that’s exactly what will happen. If we constantly bemoan our need to catch up on things, then we will always find ourselves behind.

On the other hand, if we take ownership of our lives and stop making excuses for all the external reasons why we can’t do what we need to do, we won’t feel pressured.

Because we’re not calibrating our level of stress by an arbitrary, poorly designed timekeeping device that the pope instituted back in the fifteen hundreds as a political and religious tool for controlling the unwilling masses.

Who cares what month it is? To hell with the stupid calendar.

Matter of fact, did you know that the word month is one of four words in our language that has no rhyme?

It’s obviously a sign. Why insist on making life more difficult than it needs to be?

There is no siren, and there are no emergencies.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some holiday planning to do.

What’s your most prolific month of the year?