The new year.
It always feels like turning a page in a book, doesn’t it really? Like, sloooooowly turning it. At least in Finland, the Christmas holidays are long. And even though we march on a linear timeline, there’s always something magical in that line between the last year and this one.
And once the holidays are over…you must rebound.
A Three-Part Recipe for a Perfect Rebound
I’m a huge fan of routines, so let me share you what I’m doing now to make this year the best year ever. There are three things that, when repeated daily, will lead to exponential growth in just about everything you choose to do:
- Feed your mind
- Strengthen your mind
- Build your body
Let me elaborate.
Feeding your mind with books, ideas, podcasts, fiction or non-fiction, will guarantee you have more to source wisdom and ideas from. Read something daily. Learn something new. Take notes, and maybe even more importantly take the time to review those notes. Just do something else than be busy all day long, putting down fires that are not even yours to put down. Study!
Second, strengthening your mind refers to inner work. Find out what you really want. Meditate. Reflect on your past failures and successes. Work on clarity. Identify self-harming beliefs and work on them. Rewrite your internal story. Notice how you talk about yourself or your work. Notice your strengths, address your weaknesses. Stare yourself in the mirror. All these things help you lead your own N=1 operation.
And finally, building your body, last but definitely not least, just means fighting getting old. Go to the gym. Walk, for the love of God, WALK! Exercise. Don’t sit all day long. I know you might feel invulnerable if you’re in your 20s and reading this. But nobody can cheat old age. It’s coming. Resist it. Resist it with violence.
And do all these every day to rebound from any past periods when NetFlix and TikTok got the best of you.
Rebound.
Start this month.
And don’t stop.
Keep Going and Have Fun
I’m a bit of a fan of cheesy motivational videos if you haven’t noticed yet. It’s not ONLY about the instant feelgood & dopamine (although sure it’s a big thing), but it’s a lot about some kind of mental bookmark that you can build on cliches, quotes and all these bite-sized pieces.
It’s easy to rebound for a while. But it’s equally easy to give up.
Anthony Hopkins has a great piece of advice to share here:
Think of how far you’ve come. Say it to yourself daily: You did okay. Life is tough. You get these questions in your mind. Get over it, and just keep going. Never give up.
Keep Going.
You can anchor all those into this video, which you then just play in your head when you need it most.
And remember to have fun. You know, when you finally score some big wins, what do you feel? Do you feel like celebrating (hint: you should) or do you just feel that you have a little less to be scared about (hint: probably there are quite a few unresolved issues if wins don’t make you dance…)
Look, you have to make it fun. Not always have fun, but make it fun.
The rumours of academia being miserable are greatly exaggerated.
I see a lot of unnecessarily miserable academics out there because they are looking at themselves through the lens of some unrealistic expectations that they have built themselves. They are doing it to themselves!
If you’re one of them, stop, I beg you.
It’s possible to simply do your best and take calculated shots to a well-articulated goals for 2025. Write down 3 of them, write down why are you pursuing them (be honest now) and then write a list of dozens of small things you can do to get closer to smashing them!
Hand on heart, have you really taken the time to articulate the concrete goals that you can measure that you are going for this year? If not, now’s the time!
Introducing Word of the Month (You Already Know It)
Rebound!
Another thing I will do this year is have a theme for each month. One word for each month. Just to have some periods in my life. It helps me remember what matters right now.
So, if you feel like you’re having a slow start this year, I warmly invite you to rebound with me.
And to end this on a positive note…
Let’s Go!