The Mid-January Blues

Here we are, already in mid-January.

How are you doing on those New Year’s resolutions?  How are you feeling now that the hustle and bustle of the holidays has ended and everyone is pretty much back into their routines?

If you are like most of us, you are feeling a little discouraged, a little tired, a little stressed about the post-holiday bills that have come in.  You’ve almost certainly been struggling with the new habits you are trying to cultivate.  If you’re like me, you’ve already fallen down pretty miserably at keeping your resolutions, which were made with the best and most sincere of intentions.

I need to tell you – there is nothing wrong with you!  Feeling the way you do right now, struggling to keep true to your beginning-of-the-year plans, being just a little exhausted – that’s all pretty normal stuff in mid-January.

“Well that’s mighty nifty,” you are probably thinking, “but how does that help me?”

I’m glad you asked.

As you face the mid-January, heart- of-winter let-down, I have a few things to share that should help you refocus and keep going.

1.       Breathe

It’s gonna be OK.  You won’t feel like this forever.  It won’t always be this difficult.  Sit down.  Close your eyes.  And breathe.

2.       Start Again

And again.  And every time you find yourself falling down as you struggle towards those new and worthy goals.  It’s not easy.  If it was easy, you’d already have done it.

3.       Sit down and grab a piece of paper and a pen

Not your laptop.

Not the new tablet you got for Christmas.

Not your smart phone.

A real piece of PAPER (!) and a writing utensil of some sort.  There is something powerful about filtering thoughts and ideas out of your head, using your hand to write those ideas down, and looking at them with your physical eyes instead of just your mind’s eye.

The more senses you can use, the better.

Maybe get up and walk around as you’re holding the completed list and reading it out loud while looking at it with your eyes.  I guess you could even taste the paper if you really want to get into this.

When you get the ideas out of your head and in front of your eyes, several things happen.

You will feel less confused.  Purpose becomes clearer.  Things that aren’t necessary get crossed out.  Your physical self feels just a bit lighter and more hopeful, because the goals that were weighing you down while swirling around in the crowded and fearful soup of your thoughts have been taken out of your head and put onto that piece of paper.

You’ve found a bit more focus.

Those of you who did this exercise on your tablet or laptop or smart phone – because I know you did, even though I said not to – it’s still a worthwhile effort.  But try it with paper and pen and see if it feels differently.

4.       Revise

Look at the goals/resolutions you made for yourself at the beginning of the year.  Do they still make sense?  Do you have too many goals?  Are you trying to do too much at one time?  Are some of your resolutions things that are beyond your control?  Did you get specific enough?

You will most likely need to revise your expectations of yourself and others just a little bit.  Maybe a lot.  And that’s ok.

That’s how wise people approach a task – they make a plan, work the plan, and a little ways into the plan they take a look at how things are going and revise the original plan.

And then they repeat that process over and over until the goal is achieved.

5.       Breathe again.

Yup, breathe deeply and slowly one more time.  It feels good, slows you down, and lowers your stress.

January can be a tough month for many people.  But don’t let discouragement, fatigue, and your perfectly normal imperfection paralyze you.

Reality hits in January, and that’s not a BAD thing.  Or a good thing, for that matter.

It’s just a REAL thing.

So pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and begin again.

If you follow these guidelines each time you get derailed or discouraged, you’ll be amazed at how far you’ve come at the end of the year.

You can do this!