I live in Minnesota. It’s a place with friendly people and with weather that can vary all over the board. It gets really hot and really cold. This winter was a particularly odd one in that we were getting nearly a foot of snow at times in the month of April. (Why do I live here? Well, it’s really great the other 9 or 8…or 7… months of the year!)
ANYWAY, as you can imagine, we Minnesotans were getting pretty tired of winter. So, last weekend we had 18″ of snow and today, maybe 8 days later, it was 70 degrees. (We think it’s odd too!) What I’m building to though, is that today was one of the first days in a while where it was sunny. Truly and actually sunny.
It was glorious!
It struck me as I walked into work for the day, how much lighter I felt, being able to see so much sunlight. A weight I didn’t know I’d been carrying, for far too long, was suddenly lifted.
I felt motivated. I felt energized. I felt ready to tackle the day. (Oh, what a productive day it was!)
It occurred to me that in the absence of such sunlight, we need to find other ways to brighten our spirits – both literally and figuratively.
Many people can benefit from a light box that transmits light similar to sunlight to help them with a positivity boost in the cloudier months. Here’s one I’ve liked that is reasonable.
In addition, we have to find ways to provide ourselves the “light”, motivation and inspiration that can help us through our days in darker times.
What could this look like?
- Reading a favorite book that inspires you.
- Following an instagram account with photos of a tropical place or with quotes that provide you motivation and perspective.
- Prayer to help you gain momentum or motivation.
- Meditation to help you refocus when your brain feels sluggish.
- Journaling to help you organize your thoughts and forge ahead.
- Listen to upbeat music to motivate you through the day.
- Call a family member who you love, just to say “hi”.
- Planning something you can look forward to, like a trip to somewhere warm. (The looking forward to it is half the benefit of the trip – it can be a motivator to lead you through the colder and darker days.)
The last thing to keep in mind is that when you seek out inspiration for yourself, you can also pass that along by being light for others. Remember: “A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.” – James Keller
For an instagram feed that will inspire you with ideas, quotes, tropical pictures and sunset pictures, check us out here.
DISCLOSURE: SOME OF THE LINKS ABOVE ARE AFFILIATE LINKS, MEANING IF YOU CLICK THROUGH AND MAKE A PURCHASE, I WILL EARN A COMMISSION AT NO COST TO YOU.
Photo by Anders Jildén on Unsplash
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