Winter can be a difficult time for many at the best of times.
With many of you working from home for several months, it could feel as though it’s about to hit hard. Our range of activities have already been limited with not being able to meet friends or family as often as you would like. Maybe you have been worried about eating or drinking out so have limited socialising to the odd trip to a cafe outdoors.
Now the nights are drawing in and the weather is not as nice as it has been. Not long ago it felt as though the sunny days and walks were the only brightness to your day.
You’ve found yourself saying on a daily basis. “I’m dreading the winter months”. In the middle of a lockdown and nowhere to go but a brightly lit supermarket or a walk in the dark after you finish work.
Can you shift your perception on this? What are the best things about this time of year? What gives you a warm glow apart from a large glass of red?
You feel a natural desire to slow down. You don’t feel guilty sitting in your pyjamas binge watching a Netflix series. And that’s just on a Monday.
It’s acceptable to drink hot chocolate and eat chocolate at the same time. You find yourself kicking piles of autumanal leaves, checking that no-one is looking first. You’e already planning a spring break, ready to beat off the January blues. You enjoy looking at Christmas gifts for others and dropping some heavy hints about things for you.
You can look forward to frosty, wintry walks wrapped up in your favourite scarf and bobble hat. More reasons to drink hot chocolate and get in to warm up nice and cosy under a blanket and back in your pajamas!
When you change the way you look at things, they appear different and you can feel different about them.
Need some other ideas for keeping yourself positive?
10 ways in which you can turn around gloom into glee
1. If you’ve been going for walks then don’t put them off because of the weather. There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad gear!
2. Focus on the good things about the winter months, cosy walks on frosty mornings. Hot chocolate and wrapping up warm.
3. Know that it’s normal to want to retreat in the winter months, as nature does. Allow yourself time to rest and retreat.
4. Make a diary date to check in with a friend and focus on how they are. Or consider volunteering to check up on someone vunerable. Doing something for someone else will always lift your spirits.
5. Think of activities you can do in the evenings. Have you always wanted to write a book, knit a scarf, make your own cards? Anything creative will sooth your worries away and give you a sense of achievement
6. Practise self-care, something that’s a bit of a treat or luxury. Nice skinscare, a long soak in the bath, yoga online. What ever makes you feel good.
7. Consider taking supplementary vitamins to strengthen your immune system and prevent any deficiencies. Approximately 1 in 5 people have a vitamin D deficiency as the levels that nromally come from the sun are not enough in winter. Also make sure your intake of Vitamin C through fruit and vegetables and consider taking echinacea as well.
8. Do an on-line exercise class such as yoga, pilates or tai-chi. If you’ve not been moving as much then stretching will help to prevent muscle aches and pains as well as relieving symptoms of stress.
9. Plan something nice for a future date. Book a weekend break, your favourite restaurant or an activity you’ve always wanted to try. Even if you have to move the date, it will give you someting to look foward to.
10. Write a handwritten letter to someone you know or even someone famous that you’ve always admired. Have no expectations of a reply, but you might be pleasantly surprised! Focus on how it might make that person feel to be on the receiving end.
It might be hard when it’s dark outside at 5.00 pm and you can see the moon, but once you take control of how you want to feel, owning how you feel then you can take action to change how you feel. The effects will be positive no just on yourself, but those around you and that you come into contact with.
How are you going to change it up?
If you have enjoyed this post you can read Lessons 1-10 of Consious Leadership.
If you enjoy this resource you’ll love 10 ways to Overcome Imposter Syndrome.
You can also view Lessons 1-15 of Conscious Leadership on Youtube.