January. This is the month of starting fresh, making resolutions or setting goals and looking at the New Year with excitement. Although the month starts with such enthusiasm and conviction, by the middle of the month you may start feeling discouraged, a loss of hope or motivation and feeling of being stuck already. With the excitement of the holidays and the “holiday rush” after it’s all over then what? This is the month to push through that sluggish blue feeling, and stay focused while allowing yourself to take a little break. Sometimes I think that we should allow for some quiet in January and know that it doesn’t mean we lost sight of our fresh start or new goals for the year. In December we are go, go, go, and now we need to take a deep breath appreciate the quiet and then set those New Year goals or stay focused.
There are many different steps you can take that will allow you to refocus instead of getting caught up in the blues. Here are a few: First take that deep breath and appreciate the quiet even if it’s only for a few minutes. Secondly, make a list or talk to a partner or family member about how you are feeling. Then set short and long term goals for yourself, think about what you want or what you want the big picture to look like then start by setting small goals for yourself. It’s important to remember that getting to the big picture takes time. The small goals are just as important as the big the picture and without them we set ourselves up for failure. It’s easier to achieve our goals when we take small steps as opposed to giant leaps. Finally, a change in mind set is extremely important. At night when you go to bed ask “what was I able to accomplish today” or say “look at what I was able to do today” instead of ending your day with “gosh I didn’t do anything today” or “I can’t believe I didn’t do that.” When we can just change our mind set to a positive one instead of focusing on the negatives it changes the whole outlook of our day.
Take some time to try out these small steps. Remember to appreciate the few moments of quiet you get. Refocus and start working towards those small steps. Finally, try to change the way you view what you were able to accomplish for the day.
If you would like to continue this conversation, then give me a call for additional information.
Thank you,
Monica Burton, LMFT 727-360-8461