1) Participate – do you remember the excitement of a big snow fall when you were little. It was glorious. Your creative mind would jump into action. You’d be out making angels and snowmen. Maybe it’s time to get back out and play. Have a snowball fight with your neighbor. Put on some snow shoes and go on a journey through the park. Skiing, skating, hockey and curling, all wonderful winter sports. Often when we embrace the thing we begrudge we actually start to enjoy it.
2) Escape – to escape winter doesn’t have to mean heading to some tropical island. Although a nice thought, many of us can’t spend the time or the money to go that far away. Try escaping to a local hotel for a night. Spend an afternoon at a spa and watch your mood change. Switch homes with a friend for a day or two. The point is to change your environment. This will help to wake up your mind and increase your energy level.
3) Change your routine – If you always go to the same coffee shop, try a different one. Take a new route or method of transportation to work. Get up at a different time of day. Eat dinner in a place in your home that you don’t usually eat in. Changing your routine can jolt you out of a rut. It’s still winter but you’ll start to see if from a fresh perspective.
4) Have an old fashioned slumber party – get a group of pals and invite them over for the night. Break out some good movies, wine and food and hunker down. Often in the bowels of winter we can get isolated. Make a special effort to surround yourself with friends and family. After all, misery loves company so why not try and shake off the blues together.
5) Take a class – winter is a great time to take a class you have always wanted to. It could be for pleasure like cooking or pottery. It could be self improvement like a new language or meditation. It could be to enhance your skills and credentials for work. Taking a class will get you out of the house, meeting new people and allow you the proud feeling of accomplishing something. Beats sitting at home staring at the snow.
6) Give yourself permission to do less – let’s face it, winter takes work. It involves a lot more thought, more clothes, more time and more energy to get the same things done as those you do in the summer. Instead of fighting an uphill battle with mother nature, check your schedule and see if there is anything you can eliminate or postpone to allow for a bit more spare time in your day. Just like many of our animal friends, it’s alright to do less in the winter.
Are you feeling the winter blues? How are you going to snap out of it?
Caird Urquhart is Founder and President of Newroad Coaching, a boutique coaching firm providing one-on-one personal and business coaching services and also author of 30 Ways To Better Days: How to Rally After You’ve Been Dumped. Find Newroad Coaching on their blog and on Twitter and YouTube
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