Spring is here! Spring is here! OK, not quite, but it is right around the corner.
Spring is my favorite time of the year. Growing up in the Midwest, spring was the point where everyone came out of hibernation! It means longer days and warm weather were ahead. For me, it always meant being outside, being active, and reconnecting with all of my friends and family.
I have always felt rejuvenated in the spring. With all of the outside barbecues, activities, and people, it was easy to lift my spirits for the next day ahead.
Jump start your attitude and send the winter doldrums out the window with the great mental spring cleaning tips, courtesy of the Huffington Post.
1) Take stock of things. Take a look at your life. Put pen to paper. Ask yourself the following questions HONESTLY. Whatever isn’t working for you should be addresses. If you have too many issues on the list, then pair it down to the ones that REALLY bother you.
• What in your life is wasting your time?
• What is draining your energy?
• What are the biggest sources of stress?
• What is holding you back from happiness?
Now, take a pen to paper again. What makes you happy?
• What do you look forward to accomplishing?
• What goals do you have for the year?
• What do you want for the week/month that will give you a positive experience?
2) Clean out the old! Useless junk lines our lives and can take tons of forms. Anger, resentment, hopelessness, cynicism, self-doubt, etc. Get started on moving forward!
• Make a list of activities: what you want to stop, what you want to start, what you can continue.
• Give yourself a timeline for the stop/start list. Write it down: “In 30 days I want to stop watching more than 1 hour of TV a night and start walking for 30 mins a day.”
• Make you goals realistic and have an accountability buddy
3) Tie up loose ends and get organized. Get ready to be busy. Any time you make changes to your life, it is going to interfere with your current routine. Enlist people in your experience and enjoy all of the changes.
• Use an action list of things to start and the times to get started.
• Use time blocking in your schedule and stick to it for 2 weeks.
• Identify time wasters in your schedule and get rid of them.
4) Try something new. This can be anything! Open your mind to different ideas and ways of doing things. It can make life easier, processes faster, and things better.
• Change is hard. Try new things to keep the changes interesting.
• Find like-minded people to help or enlist them in an idea exchange.
Remember, you get out of this life what you put into it. Your attitude over the winter can be cold and a little brittle. Open your mind to doing things that make you happy. Treat others with respect and dignity and I hope that this spring is your rejuvenation!
Wishing you a Happy Spring!
