Every year when spring starts to roll around, I find myself searching long and hard for a way to escape my winter blues. I love the feeling of being surrounded by warmth and spending the majority of my time outdoors so it’s hard for me to live my life to the fullest during cold months. I hibernate and go into full on winter survival mode. Dreaming of sunshine and reminiscing about those perfect summer days is what gets me through.
So how do you break out of this pattern and start existing again? I personally find it takes a lot of motivation and inspiration for me to break free of this zombie mode my body goes into. This year I decided to push myself in ways I never thought I could and really make up for all the lost months I spent inside stuffing my face with chocolate and waiting for the snow to melt. I’ve created a list of ways that have been working for me to maintain a positive attitude and get inspired again. Hopefully they will help some of you dealing with the same annual quest to finding balance in your life again.
1. Find Something You’re Really Interested In
Look for an activity you have always wanted to pursue in your spare time or find a club to join. I have always wanted to be a runner. I see people running and always think, damn, I wish I could do that. My mind would tell me I could never have the patience to run long distances outside. I could never be motivated enough or have enough energy. This year I was invited into a run club. My first instinct was yikes. Not for me. Then I thought about it again. I looked at who else was invited into said club. A group of 13 really creative girls who were all beginners. We were all in the same boat, starting from the bottom. That in itself made me change my mind. An invitation to something I had always wanted was just handed to me. Running with a pack of girls to push, motivate and inspire each other along the way. A few weeks in and I can’t believe what I am pushing myself to do. Being surrounded by other people who have the same mindset as yourself and who are working toward the same goal is so incredibly inspiring. I thank the universe for this every time I run. What a gift! Finding something you’re passionate about and surrounding yourself with people who share the same compelling emotion as you towards it is the best feeling.
2. Change Up Your Work Out Routine
I recently got a membership with Class Pass, which is essentially a universal pass to a majority of fitness studios throughout the city. This pass is a real work out game changer! It gives you so many options for different styles of work outs that you could never get bored. It’s also a good way to get you to different parts of the city you don’t usually go to or haven’t been to. I find that when I have a monthly gym membership I fall off track so easily due to boredom. I also find I hit a plateau where my body just looks the same. Definitely look for something like this in your city because it truly does make working out fun again.
3. Give Meditation a Try
I’m sure most people have seen mediation recommended in so many articles, but it really does make a difference. Taking 10 to 20 minutes of your time each day to shut off your brain and focus on gratitude is life changing. There are endless amounts of meditation series online to download and stream that you can try out. My personal fav would have to be the Oprah and Deepak Meditation Series. Every so often they have a free 21 day meditation program which I absolutely love. Getting in the habit of meditating each morning and or evening can really set you up for a day filled with positive vibes.
4. Hit The Market
This one is only applicable in summer for some people such as myself, but try and ditch your commercial grocery stores and hit up some local farmers markets. I’ve been doing this for the past couple years now and I find on market days I always feel so happy and inspired. Being around local people and food is really uplifting! It gives me something to look forward to each week. It feels good to support local farmers who you know use the profits towards growing real food rather then throwing away hundreds of dollars a month to a corporation who really couldn’t care less about the quality of food being sold to you.
5. Hangouts Are Key
Make a solid effort to set one day a week aside that is free of errands and work or what have you, to schedule in a hang sesh with your friends. Friends are inspiring, supportive, motivating, loving and many other wonderful things beyond great company. Doing this forces you to get out of the house and step away from your busy life to just hang out and feel free. This gives you another thing to look forward to and helps in maintaining positive spirits and good vibes.
Now that the weather is finally tolerable and the cloud of negativity that has stalked me ever so closely throughout the winter has finally begun to disappear, I can leave my den and emerge back into reality. It’s time to exist again and push each other to be the best version of ourselves that we can be!
Written by Amanda Lynn. Amanda is a 29 year old Torontonian that blogs about her favourite things! Food, fashion, DIY, home decor, health, fitness and beauty. After 10 years of being Vegetarian, she has finally made the switch to a Vegan diet. Check out her blog here or find her on Instagram here.
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