“In the depths of winter, I finally learned that there may be an invincible summer in me.”
Albert Camus
“If we had no winter, spring wouldn’t be so nice; if we had not experienced some adversity, prosperity wouldn’t be so welcome.”
Anna Bradstreet
Here in Sweden, winter is dark, cold and infrequently combined with rain and snow.
And spring continues to be far-off.
It will not be easy to keep up energy and optimism as on shiny and warm summer days.
That is why today I would love to share 7 habits that I exploit that make it easier to keep up a positive attitude even on this dark and infrequently gray season.
1. Find considered one of your best bursts of energy.
Ask yourself: What is the most important energy drain in my life immediately?
For example, chances are you’ll find that that is the person in your life who may be very negative.
Or that the report you have been intending to finish for a month is dragging you down.
Then you proceed by asking:
What can I do with this?
Maybe you choose you wish to stop seeing this person. Or at the very least spend less time with him throughout the week and more time with the individuals who offer you essentially the most energy.
Perhaps you may just go 5 minutes today to begin over with the completion of the report.
For some energy shortages, there might not be an easy solution. Or an answer in any respect, at the very least for now.
Then it is advisable to find considered one of the smaller leaks in your life that you may do something about.
Take a couple of minutes or half an hour a day to plug considered one of these biggest leaks and you’ll need more energy for what’s really necessary to you.
2. Be grateful for the little things and things that chances are you’ll sometimes take with no consideration.
When I look out the window at a dark and rainy landscape within the morning, it is simple to forget what I actually have.
things like:
- A roof over your head and a warm home.
- clean water.
- Three solid meals a day.
I even have found that this stepping away from my perspective helps rather a lot to interrupt out of all forms of victim considering and negativity.
3. Vitamin D supplements
I even have been taking vitamin D supplements each day for the previous couple of winters and have found that they restore quite a little bit of energy that I normally lose during an extended winter.
Several people near me also take them and report similar positive effects to various degrees.
4. Go outside for 3-5 minutes very first thing within the morning.
This is my favorite latest and each day habit over the past 12 months.
I first heard about it from a preferred one Huberman Lab podcast by Andrew Huberman, professor of neurobiology at Stanford University.
I’ve found that simply stepping out onto our porch for 3-5 minutes within the morning right after sunrise – around 9am here in Sweden – helps me really get up and feel rather more alert and energetic throughout the day.
When I’m on the porch, I just take a look at the sky and the view for a couple of minutes. And because my eyes are exposed to sunlight – even when it’s an overcast day – several processes are activated in my body that can help me be more alert throughout the day, but in addition help me sleep higher (based on Huberman’s podcast).
Personally, I didn’t notice much of a difference in my sleep, but this one was already working quite well for me.
5. Lamp for light therapy.
I even have been using a lightweight therapy lamp for several winters and it has brought quite good results (I even have more energy and it is less complicated to remain optimistic).
This winter and last I didn’t feel much of a necessity to make use of it because going outside in quest of the morning light – as mentioned within the previous tip – had such a giant and positive effect.
6. Exercises.
Obvious but very effective.
Regular exercise – lifting weights twice every week and doing a fast cardio workout twice every week – offers you more energy. It will show you how to release inner tensions, anxiety and stress.
So it’s going to be easier to remain calm, positive and think clearly without overthinking and act decisively.
7. Take motion and move forward.
Few things cause as much frustration, worry, and anxiety as sitting along with your arms folded and doing nothing.
So even when it could be a bit harder to begin or pursue your dreams and goals this season, remind yourself that should you do, you’ll replace the above feelings and thoughts with optimism and confidence.
And remember, you haven’t got to maneuver forward in big or fast leaps.
The most vital thing is to simply keep moving forward. Even if it’s just taking one small or slow step after one other.
Because these steps quickly add up over weeks, although they could not look that spectacular on their very own.
