You don’t need to be suffering from full-blown Seasonal Affective Disorder to feel generally down, low on energy and warmth in winter time. Yet the winter blues are a fact of life, for millions of people. Want a fail-safe 7 step strategy to help you set yourself free from the winter blues this year?
[Read more…] about Is It Time To Banish The Winter Blues? Here’s A 7 Step Strategy To Get You Started.
How To Beat The Winter Blues – How Do You ‘Do’ The Winter Blues?
Welcome to How To Beat The Winter Blues!
Over the coming weeks, you will receive an instalment each week, full of top tips and insider secrets, to help you feel happier, warmer and more vitalised, whatever the winter weather throws at us.
Week One
Today we’re talking about making choices.
I’m sharing with you a little-known secret about the winter blues – and how knowing this secret can make the vital difference between hating winter and feeling miserable, or setting yourself free to feel differently about it this year.
And you’ll get to discover two simple questions you can ask yourself, to break free from the winter blues – fast.
Interested?
It’s a cold, hard fact that over 90% of our experience of the winter blues is down to how we choose to feel about it!
It’s not the cold that makes us miserable, it’s our response to it.
I’m going to say something that might get you throwing rotten tomatoes at me now, but it’s important, so I’m happy to take the risk: 🙂
The winter blues aren’t something you ‘have’ or ‘suffer from’.
They’re something you ‘do’.
Yes, a certain amount of it is “hard-wired” as our brain receives less sunshine and phsyiological chemical reactions change, but the rest of it is still down to our perception and reactions.
This is great news!
It’s great news because it means we can do something about it. And that “something” can be fast and effective, too.
So here is this week’s strategy for banishing the winter blues:
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- Figure out “where you’re at”
- Figure out “where you want to be instead”
It doesn’t make sense to try to force ourselves to feel as vibrant and energised in winter as we did in summer. Why? Because the body, like Mother Nature, has a natural rhythm – a cycle that runs through the seasons and the year. We have a natural tendency to want to hibernate (or at least snuggle up warm) in the winter.
But that doesn’t mean we have to put up with feeling exhausted and miserable.
So let’s start with the first step of today’s strategy:
Where are you?
How about grabbing a piece of paper and scribbling down the answers to this question:
How do you “do” the “winter blues”?
If you had to teach an alien visitor how to “do” your version of the winter blues, how would they do it?
- Which thoughts would they have to think?
- What would they have to feel?
- What would they have to see?
- What would they have to hear?
Really allow yourself to pour a stream of conscious-style guide onto the paper, capturing “where you are now” with your winter blues behaviours.
Moving on to part two:
Taking a clean sheet of paper, write down the answer to this question:
“What do you want instead?”
- Which thoughts do you want to think, instead, about winter?
- Which feelings do you want to feel?
- Which physical sensations do you want? What do you want to see? To hear?
Make your answers positive – so instead of writing, “I don’t want to feel cold”, write something like, “I want to feel cosy”.
How about sharing your answers to this section with us, over at the forum? I’d love to hear how you ‘do’ the winter blues – and what you want instead! And you might find it interesting to discover how similar we all are – and how different – by see what others have shared:
How do you ‘do’ the winter blues? And what do you want instead?
How Do You Apply This Stuff?
Simple!
Each time you catch yourself having a winter thought that drags you down, simply choose another thought that makes you feel slightly better.
Look at your list of “what do I want instead” answers and, if you’re feeling cold, low, lethargic or winter-blues-laden, pick one of your “insteads” and play with it.
Pick baby-step-sized actions to move you towards your “instead”.
Winter isn’t going to go away until it’s good and ready. And we have a choice – we can either spend the next few months grumbling and shivering, or we can do something about our response.
I know which option I’m choosing today!
Here’s this week’s positive affirmation:
I know how I ‘do’ the winter blues – and I know what I want instead.
This gives me the power to choose whether or not I want to do the winter blues, moment to moment.
See you next week for Week Two – we’ll be sharing top strategies for revitalising a sluggish winter body – and keeping your energy levels where they need to be.
I’d love to hear how you get on with this week’s techniques. Please make sure you share, via the Forum. It’s so much more fun, if we share this journey!
Thanks!
Namaste,
P.S. Not part of How To Beat The Winter Blues yet? Join in today and you could start changing your life in the next five minutes. You’ll get instant access to this article – and much, much more 🙂
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Last Call For Miracle Of Gratitude – Inner Circle!
If your heart is calling you to dive in and experience how the Miracle Of Gratitude could change your life – fast and forever – then you won’t want to miss this! Last chance!
[Read more…] about Last Call For Miracle Of Gratitude – Inner Circle!
10 Reasons Why Keeping A Gratitude Journal Could Be Your Best Idea Ever – And Why You’ll Want To Make A Start Today
We have all heard about the ‘attitude of gratitude’ and how we’re ‘supposed’ to think positive thoughts. But how on earth do you do it? How do you take the ‘stuff’ that life throws your way and turn it into smiles instead of sulking? Here are 10 reasons why you might want to use a gratitude journal to help you with all of this – and why you’ll want to make a start today.
[Read more…] about 10 Reasons Why Keeping A Gratitude Journal Could Be Your Best Idea Ever – And Why You’ll Want To Make A Start Today
Change Your Life Now With Gratitude Minutes
Want to know one of my favourite gratitude techniques?
Even if this were the only one you chose to do, it will still have a massively positive impact on your life.
It takes a minute or two – and it’s worth every second of your time.
Interested? Here it is! [Read more…] about Change Your Life Now With Gratitude Minutes
Could You Choose To Change Your Life This World Gratitude Day? September 21st 2013
We tend to be stuck living in a world that was created by our Monkey Minds, stuck with its old fears, worries, habits, baggage and projections. This leads to stress, unhappiness, ‘dis-ease’, anxiety and broken relationships. 🙁
But the solution to all of this is there, waiting for you – in your heart. 🙂
Is it time to move from living in your head, to living from your heart?
As soon as you move from your head to your heart:
- your thinking calms
- your breathing slows
- your body’s stress / relaxation systems move back towards balance
- stress starts to fade
- tension – physical and mental – starts to release
- it’s easier to smile
- it’s easier to think about more positive, happy things
… and that’s just the beginning.
Gratitude is the single, most effective way to shift from living in your Monkey Mind to living in your heart.
How about trying it, right now?
Imagine you are bringing your awareness from your head and firmly guiding it to sit in your heart.
Let it settle here for a few moments, while you breathe in and out of your heart.
Notice what you notice.
Did you feel the shifts?
Weaving gratitude into your daily life is perhaps the most potent thing you could do this year, to change your life (apart from chewing properly, but that’s another article :-)).
So I’m inviting you – this World Gratitude Day – to finally take the step towards shifting your experience of life to move closer to the one you have been dreaming of.
Gratitude is a way of experiencing life from the perspective of love, rather than fear.
Having a daily gratitude habit can:
- shift the way you experience life – fast and forever (in a good way!)
- help you to see the positives in events that would previously have bugged you
- help you to feel more at peace and generally happier and less stressed
- give you a deeper perspective on life’s events, coming from your heart’s wisdom, rather than your monkey mind’s drama
- provide a ‘safety net’ for you, if life throws you lemons
- get you smiling, for no particular reason, as you go through your day
- help you to better handle difficult emotional situations
- more easily give you compassion for those who behave unkindly
Not sure where to start?
Here are 10 things you could do today, to spread a wave of gratitude around your world.
How about using this year’s World Gratitude Day as an excuse to get started?
Get Your Gratitude On Facebook!
We run a Facebook page that’s all about gratitude – it’s called the Miracle Of Gratitude.
If you pop by and ‘like’ the page, then you’ll get daily gratitude goodies in your news feed – and you can also ‘join’ the World Gratitude Event, to connect with others who will also be celebrating this year.
Get Monday Morning Gratitude Inspiration – Each Week
Did you know that you can get a weekly gratitude round-up – straight to your inbox, each Monday Morning, and it’s absolutely free? To start your week with the latest gratitude articles, insider secrets and resources, here’s where to register: Please send me weekly gratitude emails!
Change Your Life With Daily Gratitude minutes
This is the core technique for my gratitude journal and my gratitude kick start course – spending a minute or two really letting gratitude into your life.
It’s a great way to start your day – or to turn things around when the lemons arrive 😉
Here’s a link to a video to take you through it – if you enjoy it, please share it with your friends!
Change Your Life Now With Gratitude Minutes.
Say Thank You To As Many People As You Can
… and mean it!
We’re not talking cursory half-mumbled ‘thank yous’ here – we’re talking about proper, heart-felt gratitude.
Who could you say ‘thank you’ to today?
Look In The Mirror
When did you last say ‘thank you’ to yourself? We tend to be about 100 times more likely to criticise ourselves than to acknowledge the good in who we are and what we do. How about taking a moment to look in the mirror and say ‘thank you’ to yourself? Want to go for the max? Say ‘thank you’ for at least 3 things!
Do A Gratitude Meditation
Do one of your own – or there’s one that comes with my gratitude journal, for the readers’ club members.
Write A Thank You Note
Remember the ‘olden days’ when it used to feel lovely to get a letter or a card? Somehow an email or text just doesn’t create the same heart-lifting feeling.
There’s bound to be someone in your life today who would appreciate a ‘thank you’ note – it doesn’t have to be elaborate or on a beautiful notecard – simply grab a pen and some paper and write a note from your heart. It might just make their day.
Start A Daily Gratitude Journal
Start a journal! Choose a special notebook and write in it – each day – about things you feel grateful for.
Psychology researchers have shown that doing this for as little as 3 weeks can have a measurable positive impact on your experience of life.
If you want to take things to the next level and be inspired to really make gratitude part of your every-day life – easily – then Gratitude: A Daily Journal might be just what you’re looking for.
Of course, in true BBC style: “other gratitude journals are available!” 😉
And here are some articles to give you inspiration about how to do it, what to write and how to avoid the usual mistakes that can put people off! Gratitude journals: top tips and insider secrets.
Give Your Gratitude A Kick Start
If you’d like to spend the next seven days making a fast-acting start to your gratitude habit, then you’ll enjoy my Gratitude Kick Start programme.
To celebrate World Gratitude Day, I am waiving the usual donation for this course for everyone who signs up by September 22nd – it’s yours, as my gift.
Take Gratitude To The Next Level
If your heart is calling you to really dive in deeply and make a commitment to gratitude becoming part of your experience of life, then you might want to join my Miracle Of Gratitude – Inner Circle group mentoring programme. I won’t go into details here – if it’s calling to you, you can find out how to apply at the above link.
Which of these could you choose – right now – to help you take that first step on your journey?
It doesn’t have to be a huge leap – but setting your intention to move towards living from your heart, with gratitude, will open the door for miracles to arrive in your life!
What are you going to do, to celebrate World Gratitude Day, this year?
I’d love to hear from you, via the comments box!
Namaste,