February can be a slump month. The weather’s not great in many parts of this hemisphere, and we’re in a post-holiday, post-resolution, place in the year.
In case you’re feeling a little blue, or slumpy, or just not that jazzed, I thought I’d share an easy three step, feel-good challenge to help shift things around with a little self-care.
In case you need a pep talk, self-care and kindness are good for you. When you’re deficient in these, you’re more likely to overeat, numb out, and avoid things. You’re less likely to stick with the good habits and more prone to gravitate to old, familiar patterns you’re trying to avoid.
Ready to feel less slumpy?
Here are three things to do daily (just because it’s February):
This is designed to be easy. Let it be. Don’t over-think, just allow these three things to add a bit more goodness to your life.
1. Make one thing easier
Pick something in your life that feels difficult and make it easier. Order your groceries online. Make something a recurring date so you don’t have to find time for it over and over (bonus points if you do this with something fun for yourself like movie night or a consistent massage date). Buy the prepared salad. Treat yourself to a personal training appointment or hire someone to clean or organize or shovel your snow. Ask for help with something. Look for menu plans online instead of creating your own (they often come with grocery lists). Pick just one thing and challenge yourself to add some ease.
2. Find something simple that makes you happy
Pick something simple that brings you joy – a happy song, a special quote, a poem, a picture of people or pets that warms your heart, a memory, or even a simple stretching exercise that feels wonderful. Make this happy thing a daily part of your life. Play the song at breakfast, put the picture on the screen of your phone, put that quote on a sticky note somewhere. The goal is to start sprinkling goodness into your day.
3. Pause and take ten deep breaths once a day
This takes less than two minutes, and it can be a powerful reset, especially if you sit down, close your eyes, and relax into this practice. It’s simply impossible for your body to be activating an anxious response and a calming response at the same time. By pausing to breathe deep, you activate your parasympathetic nervous system, or your relaxation response. Even if you don’t feel completely relaxed, you’ve shifted your physiology in a more peaceful direction.
Talk soon,
