How To Comfortably Transition Into Winter
Changing from fall to winter can appear to be a simple task: we grab our gloves,our jacket, our skis, snow shoes, winter tires... and that's it. Although, when November shows up and it's -15, we end up hibernating, then December shows up and it's -25 and we find ourselves becoming lazy and lacking motivation.
We can physically grab our winter clothes and change our thermostat, but we can also mentally prepare ourselves. Then who knows, winter could become our favourite season!
"When it snows, you have two choices: shovel or make snow angels" -Unknown
Prepare yourself mentally
Winter comes every year, it's inevitable and it's not always easy. However, unless we take a trip some place warm, we are stuck with this cold. There's unfortunately no way around it, therefore we should cope with the dreaded weather.
Once we get in the mindset that winter is coming and we tell ourselves it will be a good few months, it'll be that much easier. This can be done by telling ourselves we are ready to face it.
Let's imagine our previous winters and ask ourselves: "what went wrong?" "what went right?" "what don't I like about winter" . This will help to realize what we can do differently to ease our mind for a smoother transition. When we think happy and positive, our mood progressively adapts to that.
Make goals during the winter
We feel more accomplished when we accomplish goals. Such as, eating well, working out, drinking water, waking up at a decent time, amongst others objectives. The cold months are a perfect time to continue goals, instead of stopping them. It won't be easy but it will make us feel THAT much better.
We are able to create new goals to fufill them throughout the winter. When we stop accomplishing goals, we go back in time but when we keep accomplishing, we keep moving forward.
For example, I personally want to workout more often. If I remain motivated, I can continuously aim to reach this goal throughout every month. My inspiration won't miraculously show up after winter. Therefore even small steps towards my goal can be rewardin
Find activities to stay occupied
A month or so before the winter hits, it is a perfect time to look up things to keep us busy.There are more activities out there than we think. Also, finding a friend or family member to do the activities with, will enrichen the experience.
For instance, our list can be: outdoor- tobogganing, skiing, skating, snowboarding, hiking, snowshoeing. Indoor- skating, mini putt, bowling, laser tag.
Other activities to plan and look forward to can be: make a regular occurence to do family game night on fridays or a saturday wine night with friends, a light show or festival date, a little road trip or adventure. We can also, make a list of movies or shows we would like to watch. That way we have something to look forward to.
We may start an activity or try it once and fall in love with it. We will never know until we try.
Nevertheless, we are still able to do most of the activities we do during the other seasons, but we will have to adapt accordingly. We need to recognize, nothing is impossible.
Prepare to adapt our schedules accordingly
Wake up earlier, give time to have a shower in the morning or time to grab our favourite coffee. Remember, no one else but us can keep us fully happy. This means if we want to feel 100%, we need to set ourselves up for success.
We will feel better, when we are early to work, instead of sitting in traffic or arriving late to work. Especially with shoveling the snow or heating up the car.
We can boost our mood up when we complete our work in a timely matter, rather than waiting till the last minute. This means, giving extra time in the day.
We need to be sure to take a specific amount of time per day for ourselves, whether it's only twenty minutes or it's two hours. This should be done everyday already, but if we aren't doing it, we should start now.
"People don't notice whether it's winter or summer when they're happy." -Anton Chekhov
This winter can be tackled with ease if we are able to create a schedule that works for us, show up for ourselves everyday and tell ourselves it is possible to be happy during winter. Happiness lies only in our hands, and only we can change how we feel/want to feel.
I have faith we can tackle this together. Plus, if we are really stuck, we can remember Starbucks holiday cups come out in November, and that will for sure make us happy.
Josée™
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