This New Year, Resolve to Enjoy Yourself!
January 24, 2019
When a new year rolls in during the darkness of winter, it’s human nature to resolve to make life a little brighter in the coming year. Many of us focus resolutions on personal betterment. As enumerated by data journalist Martin Armstrong and Brad Zomick, VP of Marketing at Pathgather, the most popular goals, as seen below, include:
In general, we tend to resolve to do things that are supposed to make us healthier, wealthier or happier. Fortunately, getting out more can serve many of these goals.
How to Get Out More
Jen A. Miller, an award-winning freelance writer and author in the article “How to Make (and Keep) a New Year’s Resolution,” suggests that individuals use lessons from business management to choose the “right” resolution and see it through. Goals, she argues, should be SMART—Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-Bound.
If your resolutions include socializing more, eating healthier and managing your money better, why not get a group of 10 or more together and receive group discounts on individual shows as well as matinée/lunch packages. Already part of a group? Call 952-948-6524 to learn more about our special discounts for groups.
Enriching Life Experiences
Live music and theater are particularly enriching for those who attend such events. Audiences at live events tend to be much more engaged in a live performance than they would be for pre-recorded shows or movies. Audiences can also affect the way in which the performance runs through the interplay between performers and audiences. Every live performance is completely original because it happens in the moment.
When live theater is humorous, that’s even better. Mayo Clinic, in an article titled “Stress Relief from Laughter? It’s No Joke,” lists the upsides to laughter. Laughter stimulates breathing and releases endorphins in our brains. It can also soothe tension by relaxing muscles. Watching a humorous play can improve a person’s overall mood. And, when you’re sitting with other people who are laughing at the same thing, it’s much easier to join in.
Fortunately, Sidekick Theatre has two comedies lined up for the Ives this year. “Red Herring,” which begins its stage run on March 27, 2019, is a comedy set in the volatile world of 1952. As the description sets the scene: “America’s on the verge of the H-bomb, Eisenhower’s on the campaign trail and Senator Joe McCarthy’s daughter just got engaged to a Soviet spy.”
Planned for fall 2019, David Lindsay-Abaire’s 2015 comedy “Ripcord” is a play about two women—one chipper cheerful, one cantankerous—who are forced to share a room in a senior living facility. As one review describes it “‘Ripcord’ is a deeply satisfying and vastly entertaining story of two elderly women thrown together by a comic cosmic force possessed of a wicked sense of humor…”
Enjoying Yourself
Even the most seasoned of resolution adherents understand that deprivation is more likely to breed resentment than joy. As psychologist Frank Ryan states in “Willpower for Dummies,” “research findings suggest that the pursuit of true happiness (including episodes of spontaneity and self-indulgence!) can promote and sustain willpower.” Rewards reinforce positive changes and increase the likelihood that we’ll continue on toward more challenging goals.
No matter what approach you take this New Year, stay positive, be open to new experiences and remember to get out and enjoy yourself! And if we can help by booking seats for an upcoming show (with or without a sumptuous gourmet lunch), please let us know. The box office number is 952-948-6506 for individuals and 952-948-6524 for groups.
Happy New Year!