Latest / Deep Thoughts / It's December (again): An End, A Beginning, or Just Another Day?

Transcript

It's December (again): An End, A Beginning, or Just Another Day? · Deep Thoughts

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Welcome to Deep Thoughts, a podcast designed to take you
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: on an introspective journey into the mindsets and strategies that
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: fuel personal growth. In every episode, we'll explore the intersection
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: of psychology, spirituality, and real world tactics, guiding you through
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: powerful methods to elevate your health, wealth, relationships, and overall
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: well being. From deep doves into transformative habits and mindsets
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: to candid discussions about the challenges we face in today's
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: fast paced world, Deep Thoughts is here to remind you
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: of the untapped potential that lies within. If you're ready
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: to disconnect from the distractions and connect with the tools
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: and insights needed to create lasting change, this show is
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: your sanctuary for self discovery and empowerment. Tune in, reflect,
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: and take action towards a more vibrant and fulfilling life.
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: Hey everyone, and welcome back. You know today we're going
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: to be diving into something we all experience rarely stop
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: to think about time and even more specifically, that strange
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: hold December seems to have on us. You know that
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: feeling right like December is somehow different.
• 1:09
  Speaker 3: It definitely has a unique vibe, doesn't It Almost like
• 1:12
  Speaker 3: a chapter ending, but so brand new book about to
• 1:14
  Speaker 3: begin exactly.
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: So today we're on a mission to unpack some surprising
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: facts about December, and we'll explore how other cultures see
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: this time of year, and hopefully, by the end of
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: this you'll have a whole new perspective on what December
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: means for you. Okay, kick things off, let's talk about
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: the psychological weight December seems to carry. The year is
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: almost over time to reflect, maybe panic a little about
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: those resolutions.
• 1:36
  Speaker 3: We'll think about it. Humans crave closure, uh huh. We
• 1:40
  Speaker 3: love milestone, right, and December, thanks to our Gregorian calendar,
• 1:43
  Speaker 3: happens to be perfectly positioned as both. It's that satisfying
• 1:47
  Speaker 3: period at the end of a long sentence.
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: Yeah, okay, that makes sense. But hold on this Gregorian
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: calendar thing. It's just one way of measuring time, right, right,
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: So it's not like some universal.
• 1:58
  Speaker 3: Truth, you got it. Imagine if we followed a different
• 2:02
  Speaker 3: calendar system entirely, would December still feel so monumental? Probably not.
• 2:10
  Speaker 3: It really makes you realize how much of what we
• 2:12
  Speaker 3: consider reality is actually based on shared agreements.
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: Whoa mind blown? So December is not this all powerful force,
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: but more like a giant pause button we all agreed
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: to hit at the same time precisely. Wow.
• 2:26
  Speaker 3: And speaking of pause, December is also seen as a
• 2:29
  Speaker 3: launch pad for all those fresh starts and resolutions. And
• 2:32
  Speaker 3: here's the kicker. Most of those New Year's resolutions, they
• 2:35
  Speaker 3: fizzle out faster than a firework on a rainy day.
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: Yeah, we've all been there. Why do you think that is?
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: Is it because we get caught up in the excitement
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: of a clean slate and set these massive goals that
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: are hard to stick with.
• 2:47
  Speaker 3: That's definitely part of it. But what's even more interesting
• 2:49
  Speaker 3: is the mindset piece. What if instead of waiting for
• 2:53
  Speaker 3: January first to magically transform us, we embrace the idea
• 2:57
  Speaker 3: that we're constantly evolving every So it's.
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: Less about waiting for permission from the calendar to change
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: and more about recognizing that we have the power to
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: grow and shift direction at any moment exactly. I like that.
• 3:12
  Speaker 3: It's about making small, consistent adjustments instead of placing all
• 3:17
  Speaker 3: the pressure on a single date. Think of December less
• 3:22
  Speaker 3: as a starting line and more like a magnifying glass.
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: Right.
• 3:25
  Speaker 3: It's a chance to look back on the year, see
• 3:27
  Speaker 3: what worked, what didn't, and make those course corrections.
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: Okay, I'm following you, but let's flip the script for
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: a second. Okay, what if we entertain the idea that
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: December is just another day?
• 3:37
  Speaker 3: I love that you're challenging the status quo. What happens
• 3:40
  Speaker 3: when we strip away all the hype and pressure we
• 3:43
  Speaker 3: associate with December? Could that be a kind of liberation?
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: Imagine treating December just like any other month on the calendar,
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: no pressure to have it all figured out or make
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: drastic changes. Could that actually be more freeing, allowing us
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: to focus on the present moment getting swept up in
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: the frenzy.
• 4:01
  Speaker 3: Absolutely? Okay, It's about recognizing that the power we give
• 4:06
  Speaker 3: December is largely a narrative we've created. We can choose
• 4:10
  Speaker 3: to rewrite that narrative to create a December that aligns
• 4:14
  Speaker 3: with our own values and priorities.
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: This is already making me rethink how I approach this
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: time of year. But there's another layer to this whole
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: December thing, right, This idea that our experience of time
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: isn't actually universal.
• 4:27
  Speaker 3: That's where it gets really fascinating. Think about the Chinese
• 4:30
  Speaker 3: New Year, for example, It falls weeks after our traditional
• 4:33
  Speaker 3: New Year, celebration. Right, then you have many indigenous cultures
• 4:37
  Speaker 3: that don't see time as this straight line, but as
• 4:39
  Speaker 3: a cycle, a continuous flow connected to the seasons and
• 4:43
  Speaker 3: the natural world.
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: So the way we view December with all its weight
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: and significance, yeah, it's just one perspective among many it is.
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: That's a powerful thought.
• 4:54
  Speaker 3: And it begs the question, could embracing these diverse perspectives
• 4:58
  Speaker 3: on time make us more at less stressed about December's arrival,
• 5:03
  Speaker 3: maybe even open us up to different ways of experiencing
• 5:06
  Speaker 3: this time of year.
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: It's like, suddenly, December isn't this big scary monster, but
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: just another point on the map of time, which I
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: gotta admit is kind of a relief exactly.
• 5:16
  Speaker 3: And speaking of maps, it's fascinating how we tend to
• 5:18
  Speaker 3: view time as this linear path at beginnings and endings
• 5:22
  Speaker 3: clearly marked. But what if we explored other ways of
• 5:25
  Speaker 3: understand in time, Like what.
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: If we thought of time is more of a spiral,
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: always moving forward, but also circling back, revisiting themes and
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: building on past experiences.
• 5:35
  Speaker 3: I love that analogy. It highlights how our past experiences
• 5:38
  Speaker 3: inform our present and shape our future, creating a continuous
• 5:42
  Speaker 3: flow rather than a series of isolated events.
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: So instead of feeling pressure to reinvent ourselves every December,
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: maybe it's more about recognizing the patterns in our lives,
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: acknowledging our growth, and making subtle course corrections as we
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: move forward.
• 5:58
  Speaker 3: Precisely, it's about embracing the journey with all its twists
• 6:01
  Speaker 3: and turns, and understanding that growth is an ongoing process,
• 6:04
  Speaker 3: not a once a year event.
• 6:07
  Speaker 2: You know, this whole conversation is making me think about
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: those New Year's resolutions we talked about earlier. If we
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: embrace this idea of constant evolution, yeah, does that mean
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: setting goals is pointless?
• 6:18
  Speaker 3: That's a great question. It's not about abandoning goals altogether,
• 6:22
  Speaker 3: but rather shifting our perspective on how we approach them.
• 6:25
  Speaker 3: Instead of those rigid, set in stone resolutions that often
• 6:29
  Speaker 3: lead to feelings of failure, what if we focused on
• 6:31
  Speaker 3: setting intentions and directions, Okay, allowing for flexibility and adjustments
• 6:35
  Speaker 3: along the way.
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: So it's less about I must achieve X by December
• 6:39
  Speaker 2: thirty first, yeah, and more about I'm moving in the
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: direction of X, and I'm open to exploring different paths
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: to get there.
• 6:47
  Speaker 3: Exactly. Think of it as having a destination in mind,
• 6:50
  Speaker 3: but being open to taking different routes, exploring new paths,
• 6:54
  Speaker 3: and even changing your destination if you discover something even
• 6:57
  Speaker 3: more exciting along the way that.
• 6:59
  Speaker 2: Takes the pressure. It's like we're on this grand adventure,
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: and while having a map is helpful, sometimes the most
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: rewarding discoveries happen when we venture off the beaten path.
• 7:10
  Speaker 3: Absolutely, and that sense of adventure and exploration can be
• 7:13
  Speaker 3: applied to any aspect of life, careers, relationships, personal growth,
• 7:18
  Speaker 3: you name it. It's about embracing theknown, the unexpected, twists
• 7:22
  Speaker 3: in turn, and trusting that the journey itself is just
• 7:25
  Speaker 3: as valuable, if not more so, than reaching a specific destination.
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: Which brings us back to December. Yes, instead of viewing
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: it as this pressure cooker month where we have to
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: have it all figured out, what if we approached it
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: with that same sense of curiosity and openness to a possibility.
• 7:41
  Speaker 3: I love that.
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 7:42
  Speaker 3: Imagine December as a time to reflect, assess, get curious
• 7:47
  Speaker 3: about what truly matters, and set intentions for the year
• 7:50
  Speaker 3: ahead without feeling bound by rigid resolutions.
• 7:53
  Speaker 2: It's like we're reclaiming December from the grip of societal
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: expectations exactly, and infusing it with our own personal meaning
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: and purpose.
• 8:01
  Speaker 3: And this reminds me of something you mentioned earlier, how
• 8:04
  Speaker 3: different cultures perceive time. Right, our westernized view of December
• 8:09
  Speaker 3: as this monumental ending and beginning isn't the only way
• 8:13
  Speaker 3: to look at it.
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: Right.
• 8:14
  Speaker 2: We were talking about the Chinese New Year and how
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: some indigenous cultures see time as cyclical exactly. It's like,
• 8:22
  Speaker 2: while we're stressing about wrapping up the year in a
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: neat little bow, yeah, other cultures might see this time
• 8:27
  Speaker 2: period as just another point in the ongoing cycle of
• 8:31
  Speaker 2: life precisely.
• 8:32
  Speaker 3: And it's not about saying one perspective is better than
• 8:35
  Speaker 3: the other, but rather recognizing that there are multiple ways
• 8:38
  Speaker 3: of experiencing and relating to time, and by understanding these
• 8:41
  Speaker 3: different perspectives we can become more adaptable and less rigid
• 8:44
  Speaker 3: in our own thinking.
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: This has been so eye opening. We've gone from the
• 8:47
  Speaker 2: psychology of December to the illusion of time to the
• 8:52
  Speaker 2: cultural relativity of it all. It's like December has suddenly
• 8:55
  Speaker 2: become this multifaceted prism refracting all these different meanings.
• 8:59
  Speaker 3: And possibilities and the beauty of it is you get
• 9:01
  Speaker 3: to choose which facets resonate with you most. You get
• 9:04
  Speaker 3: to decide how you want to experience December, how you
• 9:08
  Speaker 3: want to relate to time, and ultimately, how you want
• 9:11
  Speaker 3: to shape your own journey.
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: So, as we wrap up this part of our deep dive,
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: let's take a moment to appreciate the beauty of this
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: complex and ever evolving concept we call time.
• 9:22
  Speaker 3: And let's remember that regardless of what the calendar says,
• 9:25
  Speaker 3: we have the power to create meaning, embrace growth, and
• 9:29
  Speaker 3: make every moment count.
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: That's a great point. It's about taking ownership of our
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: experience of time and using it as a tool for
• 9:36
  Speaker 2: personal growth and fulfillment. Okay, so we've explored all these
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: different ways of thinking about December and time in general,
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: but how do we actually put all this into practice.
• 9:44
  Speaker 2: It's easy to get swept up in the excitement of
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: new ideas, but how do we actually make these shifts
• 9:49
  Speaker 2: in our own lives.
• 9:50
  Speaker 3: That's the key question, isn't it. Yeah, it's one thing
• 9:53
  Speaker 3: to understand these concepts intellectually, but it's another to actually
• 9:56
  Speaker 3: embody them exactly.
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: So what are some tangible steps we can can take
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: to make December more meaningful and less stressful, regardless of
• 10:07
  Speaker 2: how we choose to perceive it.
• 10:08
  Speaker 3: Well, First, I'd encourage you to reflect on the past year,
• 10:11
  Speaker 3: not with judgment or criticism, but with genuine curiosity. What
• 10:15
  Speaker 3: patterns emerge, What lessons can you glean from your experiences,
• 10:20
  Speaker 3: both the highs and the lows, So.
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: It's like a friendly investigation of our year rather than
• 10:24
  Speaker 2: a harsh performance.
• 10:25
  Speaker 3: Review precisely, Next, consider embracing what I call micro resolution.
• 10:30
  Speaker 3: Instead of those huge, overwhelming goals, focus on small daily
• 10:34
  Speaker 3: practices that contribute to your overall well being. It could
• 10:37
  Speaker 3: be anything from reading for fifteen minutes each day to
• 10:41
  Speaker 3: incorporating a short walk into your routine.
• 10:43
  Speaker 2: I love that it takes a pressure off right. It
• 10:45
  Speaker 2: makes positive change feel much more manageable.
• 10:48
  Speaker 3: And these small, consistent actions often have a much bigger
• 10:52
  Speaker 3: impact in the long run than those grand gestures that
• 10:55
  Speaker 3: quickly fizzle out. Finally, remember that milestones don't have to
• 10:59
  Speaker 3: be tied to the count. Celebrate your wins, no matter
• 11:02
  Speaker 3: how big or small, whenever they occur. Finished a challenging project,
• 11:05
  Speaker 3: learned a new skill. Those are all worth celebrating, regardless
• 11:09
  Speaker 3: of what the date is.
• 11:10
  Speaker 2: It's like creating a personalized rhythm for growth and achievement
• 11:14
  Speaker 2: that's not dictated by those arbitrary lines on the calendar.
• 11:17
  Speaker 2: We get to define what success and fulfillment look like
• 11:20
  Speaker 2: for us. This has been so insightful. Yeah, we've covered
• 11:22
  Speaker 2: so much ground how our brains perceive December, the illusion
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: of linear time, and those fascinating cultural perspectives.
• 11:31
  Speaker 3: And hopefully we've given you some food for thought as
• 11:33
  Speaker 3: you navigate the rest of December and beyond.
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: Definitely, so wrap things up. What's the most important takeaway
• 11:39
  Speaker 2: you want to leave our listeners with?
• 11:41
  Speaker 3: If I could leave you with one final thought, it
• 11:43
  Speaker 3: would be this, what if instead of letting December define us,
• 11:48
  Speaker 3: we define December?
• 11:49
  Speaker 2: Ooh, I like that. What would it look like reclaim
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: December as a time for celebration, reflection, and intention setting
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: on our own terms.
• 11:57
  Speaker 3: Exactly. It's about shifting our perspective and reckoning that we
• 12:01
  Speaker 3: have the power to create a December that feels authentic
• 12:04
  Speaker 3: and meaningful to us.
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: That's a powerful message to end on. This deep dive
• 12:08
  Speaker 2: has been a true exploration of time, perception and the
• 12:11
  Speaker 2: power of.
• 12:11
  Speaker 3: Choice, and we hope it's inspired you to rethink your
• 12:14
  Speaker 3: relationship with December and embrace the ever evolving adventure of life.
• 12:18
  Speaker 2: Thanks for joining us, and until next time, keep diving deep.
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: Thank you for tuning in to this episode of the
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: Deep Thoughts podcast. I hope you found insights and inspiration
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: to take with you on your journey of self growth.
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: If you enjoy the show, be sure to hit the
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: subscribe button so you never miss an episode, and don't
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: forget to follow us on social media to stay updated
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: on new releases in exclusive content. See you next time,
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: where we'll continue to help you grow and explore your
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: full potential.