Summer Glow
Your summer holiday is already a distant memory, the children have settled into their new term at school and now the evenings are beginning to draw in too! So how do we keep on to that great summer feeling and take it into the coming autumn months. Follow our steps to maintaining the warm glow of summer:
1. Accept the situation accept that you are more likely to feel less healthy/ happy in the winter so acknowledge this and make preparations to cope with it e.g if you know you are prone to gloominess have some coping strategies ready prepared to boost your mood or if you know you are prone to colds do things to strengthen your immunity etc.
2. Take time to daydream - Get yourself comfy, close your eyes and imagine you have just woken up in your favorite holiday location. What does it look like, how do you feel? Then take yourself through a perfect day as if it were in real time. What are you going to do, with whom? At the end of the day, tell yourself you will be back soon, stretch and open your eyes. If you do this often enough, you will find that when you are stressed such as in a traffic jam, a little picture of your dream holiday will pop into your head and instantly calm you down. You will also begin to realize that some things in the dream are actually achievable more often like relaxation or time with your loved ones or already exist but sadly, neglected.
3. Live for the moment when it is hot and sunny or when we go on holiday we know we only have a set time to make the most of it so we become a lot better at switching off and much better at living it up. Even if you just set aside half an hour a day to live for the moment go for a walk, give someone a cuddle it will make a big difference to satisfaction levels. And if you think this is not important and feel guilty doing it - Imagine you only have 48 hours left on this planet, what would you do, with how? Will you be going into the office, I dont think so!
4. Get more light our body was designed to slow down in the dark and speed up in the light so in sunshine our body releases energy boosting hormones. Get a light box, special light bulbs and get outside as much as possible artifical lighting can really slow you down.
5. Relax our body needs relaxation to repair the damage from stress in the summer we tend to be less effected by stress and relax more so have micro relaxation breaks throughout the day 5 deep breaths are enough or a big stretch, walk round the block anything that will switch you off for a moment.
6. Look forward to holidays in the winter we look forward to the summer not just for the weather but for the holiday escape plan a few weekends away, have a winter holiday or just arrange a monthly day trip or afternoon to enjoy a spa break, Centre Parcs, leisure centre.
7. Create a sanctuary at home create a room/corner that you can escape to could be the bathroom long soak, bedroom make it child free or the box room paint it warm colours and use it just for relaxation alone or with your partner.
8. Look forward to the future lazing in the sun does give us a breathing space to assess our life and think problems through often we get back of holiday with the perfect solution - is there something you would like to change about your self/life before you get to next summer? Use the winter as a transformation time do you want to lose weight, retrain, sort out an emotional issue now is the time to do it so you can reemerge as a new person when the sun comes out.
9. Stay positive gloomy weather does effect our mood so try and behave as if the sun is shining much more positive, smiley and tolerant deal with energy drainers whose negative mood wears you down by always starting a conversation with a positive statement or complement, for example I really want to talk but later when I have more time or I think you would be brilliant at this job...can you help me later. If there is conflict expressing a positive first will help diffuse the situation, for example you are usually brilliant at this so why do you think it didnt work? Or if you want to change a negative attitude, state the complaint, for example if someone is always moaning ask them if everything all right because it is not like you to be so negative.
10. Make pleasure and satisfaction a priority - Enjoy or achieving releases a chemical mix of feel good sensations designed to encourage more of the same and keep you fit and healthy. Sunshine also releases feel good chemicals that also improve your health so when it is dark we are less likely to feel good - we have to work harder to get the same effect. Dont feel guilty about taking time out to have fun as pleasure and satisfaction is the quickest and easiest route to total wellbeing. 20 seconds of hearty laughing is as beneficial as 3 minutes on a rowing machine, which would you rather be doing?
11. Get more social interaction in the summer we spend more time with people and tend to hibernate in the winter social interaction is extremely rewarding if it is just having a laugh with a group of friends or helping someone in trouble so dont lock yourself away in the winter smile and socialize more.
12. Step out of your routine in the summer when days feel longer we seem to have more time in the winter we end up just doing all the dull, boring routine tedious tasks and duties so think about changing your routine or slotting something different into it it you feel you never have enough time and life is one long round of tedium you may well be doing things because they are part of the routine rather than really having to do them - do this exercise to de clutter - Write a list of all the things you have or want to do putting them into categories such as friends, paperwork, personal goals, food cupboard, then take each group and DRAG - IT
D - Do it now - Get it out of your hair or because you cant wait!
R - Review it - Some things dont need to be done now or need time to think it through.
A - Assign it give it to someone else, so what if they dont do it as quickly or as well.
G - Get rid of it need I say more!