This post is by associate Life & Career Coach, Nadia Ismail.
Let’s face it, the return to school for the Autumn term can be really tough, both physically and mentally. It’s a true test of resilience and before we know it, it’s dark, cold and we find ourselves wishing the days away. Over recent years I’ve learnt to embrace the winter months and focus on the positive in life. Yes it’s a challenge at times, but the reality is, wishing the days away is not the answer.
Dare I remind you; Life is precious! To help you recognise this and support you with beating the Autumn / Winter blues, I’ve provided some top tips to get you started…
Create a mini timeline and break the term down
As the reduction in daylight hours becomes noticeable, our motivation can really drop. Break down the weeks by getting clear on what’s going on in your calendar and make the time and space for what makes you happy. How might you reward yourself after a challenging week? How will your weekends be spent and how will you re-charge and reset when needed?
Demonstrate Gratitude
What are you grateful for and what’s really important to you? Have you given this much thought before or have the answers become buried due to life’s demands? Let’s start the term with identifying the positives and placing our attention on this. In September 2021 I decided to write down 10 things I was grateful for at the end of each day, a quick 2-3 minute daily task meant that I reached the end of September with a list of 300 positives. There was a noticeable trend in what was important to me and what made me happy. The list therefore became a great tool to help me map out the coming months and what I needed to prioritise. I challenge you to join the gratitude club and use September 2023 as a month to recognise all the great things in your life.
Connection is key
Studies within the field of Positive Psychology have proven that connection is key for personal performance. Whilst maintaining professional relationships is important, it is equally as important to build a team that comes together and has fun in the process. This takes time and requires some exploration but will prove invaluable once right. I challenge you to take the lead on organising a team social event, a light hearted competition or something that will simply bring you all together.
Try something new - Get outside of that comfort zone
Yes, our comfort zone feels like our best friend at times but the reality is, it can also be our own worst enemy. Whilst our subconscious mind is actually being very clever in trying to protect us and keep us in our comfort zone, the impact this has is that we miss out on new experiences and that feeling we gain through our sense of achievement. Start small and build from there. Try something new in your exercise regime, eat something different you haven’t tried before or take that first mini step towards that thing that you’ve been putting off.
I challenge you to start Autumn 2023 like never before by introducing one or all of the above ideas to your week. Remember that small changes can bring big results so take it step by step. I hope that these small introductions will support you with the start of term.
About Nadia Ismail
Having worked as a manager within corporate wellbeing and sales for almost a decade, Nadia has combined this experience and now works as professional development coach within the work place. Nadia provides support to both individuals and businesses looking to up-skill and empower their team member's in order to improve the performance within the work place.