“When will the shitstorm end?”

A New Year's message, with love, from Mira Kirshenbaum

I want to wish you happy new year, and I DO wish you happy new year!, but let’s face it. The thing I’m hearing most from people at the end of 2022 and looking ahead into 2023 is that the past couple of years have been a shitstorm and there’s no sign of this letting up. WTF!!!!

And we’re talking world-wide shitstorms, national ones, and personal ones, natural ones—like the hellacious blizzard the northeast just went thru with people freezing to death minutes from home—to man-made ones—gun violence, for God’s sake—to the political shitstorm that just doesn’t seem to end. And let’s not forget the horrible year we just had on Wall Street.

So the question is, What do we Do with all of this???

Well, if you’re like most of the people I talk to, there’s a lot you can do.

First of all, ignore all the shitstorm headlines. Yeah, there’s a lot of crap going on. It sucks! But most of it doesn’t have anything to do with you. It’s only sad and enraging and stressful if you let it get to you. Don’t! You have enough on your plate with your own life.

Second, understand that shitstorms come in two flavors. Tough and doom. And mostly not doom. Just tough. Which means, yeah, it’s tough going but you’re going to be okay. And if that’s the case, why not focus on the ways you are going to be okay, rather than the ways thing suck (which is real) or the ways you’re doomed (which are probably not real).

Third, write down a list of 25 things you can do to take care of yourself. Things that nourish you, that make you happy, content, at peace, fulfilled. Once you have your list, then that’s your shitstorm first-aid kit. When things are getting you down, pick yourself up by doing one of the things on your list. It’s guaranteed to make things feel less shitstormy and more like a lovely day in May.

This is what works for dealing with all this.

Please, have a wonderful, meaningful new year. Love, Mira