We’ve packed away the holiday decor. Our dried out pine trees are lining the streets, sadly waiting to be taken away to their final resting place. And any magic from the holiday season is now a passing memory that we cling on to as we endure until the first buds of Spring. We are now entering into what is commonly looked at as the Bland Days of Winter.
But fear not. It doesn’t have to be such a depressing thing. We don’t have to just power through until Springtime. There is so much take advantage of this time of year. And as a resident of the frozen tundra that is Fargo, North Dakota, learning how to embrace and enjoy midwinter is vital.
And while I’m not perfect at it, I can say that I do love this season more and more each year.
So, I would like to share with some of what I’ve learned on why this time of year is so important and a few things you can do to liven it up a bit.
THE WISDOM OF SLOWNESS
First and foremost, we get permission to rest and retreat a bit. And you are probably perfectly primed to do this having just come off a very social holiday time. But instead of hitting the ground running with all of this fresh start energy from the New Year, what if you took this time to get even more clear about how you want 2019 to be? What if you eased your way into it?
It’s good to get back into some sort of groove right now, but you get to choose how groovy you want to be, ya dig?
NOURISH YOUR NEEDS
Second of all, you get to focus on nourishing yourself. Enveloping the cozy. I’m a “cozy all year” kinda gal, but Winter gives me the opportunity to really go for it. Wear all the layers. Make all of the soup. Tuck in earlier in the evening. Sleep a bit more.
I will say that the key to cozy is to keep it in balance. We still need to move our body. We still need to be productive. We still need to be social. It’s just the percentage of doing those things can be a little less than in the other seasons.
But yes, really lean into some slow, cozy, nourishing habits this time of year.
STAY CLOSE TO THE JOY
And the last point I’ll make is to plan some joy into these next few months. Last February on my Simple Self Care Podcast, I did somewhat of a “Joy Series” where each week I interviewed people that really bring joy to everything they do. I’ll link to those at the bottom of this post, but in that series I got to talk to Food Network star Molly Yeh.
Molly is seriously one of the most delightful people I know, and she talked about how she just loves the crap out of Valentine’s Day, because why not? She goes all out because what else are you going to do on a farm in Minnesota in February. It brings in love and joy and fun to one of the coldest months of the year.
So I invite you to intentionally bring in something fun this season. Plan a party, go on a trip, pick up a new hobby, whatever. Create a tradition that can make you look forward to this time of year.
I have some more tips and tools and insights I’ll bring to you this season, but hopefully these are some good ones to get you going. We can do this.
And if you do need extra support, I got you. I am launching my new 1:1 Mentoring Program next week!!! So be sure to check back here for those details and a few other fun announcements!
And if you want more regular support, you check out my free facebook community, the Simple Self Care Circle. It’s a place to commune on all things self-care, get frequents updates and insights from me, and connect with others on their self-care journey.