Positive Thinking from January Onwards
How are you feeling as we head towards the end of January? Are you happily getting on with your New Year’s resolutions, or are you feeling blue with the ice-cold weather and dark nights?
It’s easy to begin to slip into a bit of a rut as we head further into January 2023 – the festivities are all over, the Christmas tree is all packed up and back in its hiding place for another 10 months and the thrill of the New Year has passed. There’s certainly a lot of things that may make you feel a bit “blue”, and that’s ok, but here’s some things that you can do to stay positive and keep thriving all year round.
Think of some things to celebrate and look forward to. Do you have any holidays planned this year? Are you going to any weddings or does anyone close to you have a milestone birthday coming up? Get these in your calendar and start to get excited about them, it will come round fast! You could even get your friends together and plan an evening out to combat those January blues and get you all out of the house. Positive thinking is key!
List making is another great way of staying positive. Getting tasks written down and ticked off can feel very satisfying and can make even the dullest of days feel worthwhile. Whether it’s something small like sending a thank you card to a friend, changing your bed sheets or doing a food shop, or something bigger, you’ll get the same kind of happy feeling once you’ve crossed them off your list.
Learn the art of saying no. You don’t have to always say yes to things that you don’t want to do, and you don’t always need to make an excuse! Sometimes we begrudge doing things that we’re not looking forward to, or simply not in the mood for, and life can be quickly filled with things that cause unnecessary stress. Time is precious!
Similarly, saying yes to trying new things can be good for the mind when you’re not feeling overwhelmed with activities. Try that new yoga class you keep seeing signs for, go to that crafting workshop in your local café, try that new recipe you’ve had bookmarked for years, you won’t know what you’ve been missing out on until you try.
Make this year the year you start to do things differently. Do things for YOU, do things that make you happy and fill your life with joy, and make this your year!
The best thing we think you can do is diarise a few little shopping trips, at your favourite local department store, including lunch or coffee and cake with your best friend or family member!