Now every December the music chart seems to enter a time warp as everyone downloads and streams their favorite Christmas tunes. But this year, this seems to have started very early. After only the first week of December the chart is overly populated with Christmas songs and for the first time ever since its release in 1994, Mariah Carey is topping the UK chart with ‘All I want for Christmas is you’. I found myself wondering why this might be. Clearly everyone is in need of some Christmas cheer, but I also wonder if the familiar brings some comfort.
In organisations, people often react badly to change because it is unfamiliar and they seek to return to the comfort zone of the previous status quo. Those who are relocated to new countries are also more likely to have a successful posting if there are aspects of family life and possessions that are familiar and consistent.
We know that the brain has only limited resources, known as Ego Depletion. It works most efficiently when many decisions are automated, so when everything requires processing power it can be draining. At the moment everything is drawing brain power and maybe the surfeit of Christmas classics are simply a reflection of retreat into the safe and the familiar?
When do you find yourself most drained?
What familiar routines can you engage with to support yourself and others?
How can you lift the spirits of everyone this month?