Let’s make Blue Monday "Turn it around" Monday!!
Posted on January 17, 2011 12:00:00am, by Gerrianne Clare
How are you doing on your intentions and resolutions for the New Year?
The Monday on the third week into the New Year has been coined “Blue Monday”.
It is known as the most depressing day of the year. Why? Because it is Monday, the weather is dreary, the days are darker and most people have dropped their New Year’s resolutions by this time.
Sometimes, it is hard to keep upbeat and positive when things are conspiring against you.
The weather in Canada and the Northern US can be cold and dreary with decreased sunlight, fog and clouds. The lack of sunshine and warm weather can be depressing and this affects alot of people. Then there are New Year Resolutions that have been unkept and not quite forgotton. Are you beating yourself up for not making the changes you wanted to so far in 2011?
What can you do to keep yourself motivated and inspired to create the life that you want.
A couple of weeks ago I wrote a blog about 5 Steps to Success in 2011.
I outlined 5 things that you can do to help you achieve your goals for 2011. How are you doing with these?
Look below for questions to help you explore how you can move forward on your goals.
As promised, I am sharing some of my journey with you as I strive to accomplish my goals for 2011.
What are the resolutions that I am working towards.
· Develop a greater connection with my body – what measurable things can I do to achieve this:
o eat smaller portions and incorporate more fruits and vegetables, eat less meat,
o do weight training exercises 3 times per week, cardio 3 times per week (this is new this year)
o do 30 minutes of yoga and meditation 5 mornings a week to start my day (this I have been doing but do not want to drop it while I do the above)
· Honor the agreements I make with myself or RENEGOTIATE those I cannot achieve in the moment.
· Making decisions that are aligned with how I want to be
As I revisit my resolutions for this year, I am excited to report that I have made considerable progress compared to this time last year. I think my 5 step process is working
1. Stop and breathe
Before I began writing this blog I took some time to stop what I was doing, notice how I was feeling and breathe to calm myself down. Often times when I write these blogs I get caught up in what I should be saying and do not connect with my heart and inner guidance which is where my genius come from. When I live in my head I get logical and heady which frankly just turns people off. Thank heavens I am a decent typist as I have written this last paragraph with my eyes closed trying to capture the inner guidance messages that are coming from within.
For you – Have you taken time to stop and go within to recognize how you are feeling NOW?
2.
2. Compassion for myself
Yesterday was not a great day for getting things done. I woke up later than usual, I did some baking to prepare for a girls weekend that is coming up, I made a nice dinner for my husband and I and I spent time watching TV with my youngest daughter. I had all sorts of ideas about other things that I wanted to accomplish but I did not seem to want to get off the couch. Yes I accomplished some things BUT I really did not do all that I wanted to do.
Okay now here comes the compassion (some may call these excuses L) I had a very busy week last week. I worked hard at my business, writing, doing video, creating content, reaching out to clients, coaching clients, I did weights 2 days, 5 days of yoga and meditation, cardio 3 days of an. My husband and I took time to hang out with friends, see a great movie and spend time together. I am ON every day of the week and yesterday being Sunday, I could not be ON another day. I took the day off to replenish myself. I sort of felt guilty about this, but decided to let it go and just ALLOW myself the luxury of doing nothing. It was awesome.
For you – Take a look at how much you have accomplished this past week? Can you be compassionate with yourself about how hard you work and how hard you try?
3. What have been my biggest lessons since January 1, 2011?
When I set these resolutions, I felt different than in previous years. Somehow I know on a deeper level that I am committed to doing the work this year. I want to find ways to keep my agreements with myself without beating myself up. This is the biggest learning for me.
a. If I make a mistake, forgive myself and move on.
b. If I choose to take a break, have compassion for myself and move on.
c. If I miss a day of weight training, renegotiate and move on
The biggest lesson for me has been
· Make a commitment
· Do my best to honor it
If I mess up
· Tell the truth
· Be gentle on myself
· Ask myself - What can I do NOW to get back on track?
· Take the steps to Get back on track
· Acknowledge myself for my commitment
· Be grateful for all that I have in my life
For you – What are you learning as you move forward in your life trying to accomplish these goals? What do you want to forgive yourself for, be compassionate about or renegotiate?
4. What is the theme I want to embrace for this next week?
My theme this week is forgiveness. There are some people and things in my life that I want and need to forgive. Forgiveness is such a gift you can give yourself. When you hold on to anger and resentment about things that have happened in the past, then you are only keeping yourself stuck.
I had an occasion a couple of years ago to forgive a family member for some pretty ugly things that happened to me in my youth. I held onto the story, the shame and the anger for many years. When I finally was able to forgive this person for these things, my life blossomed. I feel I am ready to take this big shift again.
There is a situation that happened in our family a couple of years ago that tore me apart on many levels. As much as I believe I let it go, I know there is a place where I have not fully forgiven the individuals that created this anguish in my life. This next week, I want to embrace total forgiveness so I can move on in my life. By my forgiving fully, I also serve as a model for others in my family to forgive and move on from here.
This is going to take some reflection and digging deep but I am committed to moving on from this pain. I will let you know next week how I am doing on this. It is easier said than done and I want to be transparent as I move through this.
For you – what do you want to focus on for the next week – what is your theme for the week?
5. What is my intention for this next week?
It is my intention to honor the agreements I make with myself. By resetting my intention each week, I am creating a habit and a reminder of what I set as my goals for the year. I actually reset my intention every morning and sometimes a couple of times during the day. A big part of setting the intention is to recommit to what I really want to have happen. I am not putting my desires on the back burner, I am making them front and center of my life.
For you - What do you want your year to look like? Wait stop that, what do you want your day to look like?
Comment below and let’s support each other in moving forward on how we want our life to be.
Much love,
Gerrianne
Comments
Posted by Morgan Langan on January 17, 2011 at 3:19:03pm
Hi Gerrianne,
Thanks for cheering me up. Even though I live in Sunny Arizona, we all need reminders.
Posted by Lison Ouellette on January 17, 2011 at 4:00:23pm
Wow! You really surprise me! Or should I say, "I really surprise myself" through your message. I am still following my resolution and Yes, I do breath at some moments of the day, every day to stop the beat and to make sure I am still on the right track. Yes I have compassion and understanding of myself and even cherish who I am in my day to day execution or achievement (personal or professional). Finally, you stop me on the theme of the week...I always make a list of things to do or I want to execute but never tough to make a theme for my week...I definitely have to think about this one...very interesting the feeling I have inside thinking about this point!!! About what I want my day to look like, I always say "no matter what happen in our life, we decide how we want to take it and how we will respond to it". Happiness always been a choice for me and every day, I do live my happiness with everybody I live with and I meet in my life.
Posted by Gerrianne on January 18, 2011 at 12:17:35pm
Hi Morgan,
Your are welcome. Sunny Arizona may have the sunshine and the warmer weather, but people still have goals and sometimes they are hard to follow through on once the newness of the New Year has worn off.
Thank you for commenting
Posted by Gerrianne on January 18, 2011 at 12:20:35pm
Hi Lison,
It is great to hear you are sticking with your resolutions. congratulations. Breathing is such an amazing tool and helps to keep us on track.
I choose a theme of the week as it helps me focus on things I know I want to improve on how I am being with the world. By focusing on one theme, it gives me cause to reflect on that one thing and see where it takes me in my growth. will keep you posted as to how the forgiveness piece is coming together for me.
I totally agree that happiness is a choice and one that we need to make every day. I believe if people could embrace this idea we would be a much better place to be.
Thanks for commenting.