Tweet
Oh, oh. Looks like it's time for a reality check. Could be a long and tough fall for some of our friends on the Left. Here is some advise:
1. Reinvent your routine - if you're used to dancing with saucer eyes most Saturdays then it might be wise to avoid clubbing for a while. It doesn't have to be forever, just long enough for you to get back in touch with having a good time on your own terms.
2. Tell your friends - there's no shame in wanting to straighten out, either for a temporary period or permanently. So let your mates know beforehand. That way, they're less likely to wave temptation under your nose at a time when you're fighting not to give up on giving up.
3. Fill your time - avoiding temptation is one thing, but that doesn't amount to much if you're left with nothing to do but stare at the telly. So be creative with your time, and do things your habit would've otherwise prevented - like driving a car or talking sense.
1. Reinvent your routine - if you're used to dancing with saucer eyes most Saturdays then it might be wise to avoid clubbing for a while. It doesn't have to be forever, just long enough for you to get back in touch with having a good time on your own terms.
2. Tell your friends - there's no shame in wanting to straighten out, either for a temporary period or permanently. So let your mates know beforehand. That way, they're less likely to wave temptation under your nose at a time when you're fighting not to give up on giving up.
3. Fill your time - avoiding temptation is one thing, but that doesn't amount to much if you're left with nothing to do but stare at the telly. So be creative with your time, and do things your habit would've otherwise prevented - like driving a car or talking sense.
By Tim Reid, The Times of London
Barack Obama's senior advisers have drawn up plans to lower expectations for his presidency if he wins next week's election, amid concerns that many of his euphoric supporters are harboring unrealistic hopes of what he can achieve.
The sudden financial crisis and the prospect of a deep and painful recession have increased the urgency inside the Obama team to bring people down to earth, after a campaign in which his soaring rhetoric and promises of "hope" and "change" are now confronted with the reality of a stricken economy.
One senior adviser told The Times that the first few weeks of the transition, immediately after the election, were critical, "so there's not a vast mood swing from exhilaration and euphoria to despair."
The aide said that Obama himself was the first to realize that expectations risked being inflated.
In an interview with a Colorado radio station, Obama appeared to be engaged already in expectation lowering. Asked about his goals for the first hundred days, he said he would need more time to tackle such big and costly issues as health care reform, global warming and Iraq.
"The first hundred days is going to be important, but it's probably going to be the first thousand days that makes the difference," he said. He has also been reminding crowds in recent days how "hard" it will be to achieve his goals, and that it will take time.
Barack Obama's senior advisers have drawn up plans to lower expectations for his presidency if he wins next week's election, amid concerns that many of his euphoric supporters are harboring unrealistic hopes of what he can achieve.
The sudden financial crisis and the prospect of a deep and painful recession have increased the urgency inside the Obama team to bring people down to earth, after a campaign in which his soaring rhetoric and promises of "hope" and "change" are now confronted with the reality of a stricken economy.
One senior adviser told The Times that the first few weeks of the transition, immediately after the election, were critical, "so there's not a vast mood swing from exhilaration and euphoria to despair."
The aide said that Obama himself was the first to realize that expectations risked being inflated.
In an interview with a Colorado radio station, Obama appeared to be engaged already in expectation lowering. Asked about his goals for the first hundred days, he said he would need more time to tackle such big and costly issues as health care reform, global warming and Iraq.
"The first hundred days is going to be important, but it's probably going to be the first thousand days that makes the difference," he said. He has also been reminding crowds in recent days how "hard" it will be to achieve his goals, and that it will take time.
Comment