January Blues

January can be a really tough time for some, finding the motivation to move forwards into the New Year can be a struggle, especially when your carrying a little extra Xmas weight.

The telly and radio are full of tips and encouragement to diet, get fit and better manage your mental health and this is no exception as we all need a kick up the arse from time to time, myself included.

I’ve been waiting for what feels like ages for the world to start again after the Xmas break and when it finally has I’ve struggled with motivation, will power and appear to be suffering from what I’m going to call writers block.

I’ve lacked structure, routine and focus, even though I’ve wanted to have these things my mind was refusing to provide me with the goods.

For those who work for a company I suppose going to back to work forces you to get back into the routine of life however I work for myself so that makes things somewhat more difficult as I just keep giving myself excuses to put things off until tomorrow (apart from meeting clients of course).

So to help me fight the January blues and to give my life a kick start again I have to rely on the self discipline that the army helped me find and developed for me.

Now I’m certainly no gym bunny and it’s a real chore for me to go to the gym however I trick myself into going by telling myself just to go for 20 mins, just to get use to it again, and if I stay for longer then it’s a bonus, and if I don’t and I leave after 20mins then I’ve still achieved my aim.

I go to the gym not for my physical health although I still reap those benefits but I mainly go to the gym for my mental health, it allows me to exercise the demons, can’t have them getting too fat, never know when I might need them. It also helps me to get more motivated to do other stuff, whatever that stuff is.

Doing exercise not only helps you physically but it does a great deal for me mentally, I feel like I can take on the world after I’ve trained, even if it’s just for 40mins, it’s not quite the feeling I got when I was a kid watching Rocky for the first time but it’s a positive feeling none the less and a feeling I like to harvest and harness.

So once I’ve dragged my lazy ass to the gym I like to keep the positive momentum going and do something constructive, whatever that may be, it’s mad because before I go to the gym I had writers block, not knowing what to actually do but afterwards it all seems so much clearer.

So I start with making a short list then I can work on that list when I lose my focus again.

Lists are a simple and constructive way to put your thoughts and plans down with a view to working on that list at a more suitable time for you.

It’s also important not to overdo things and expect to complete that list in one day, prioritise it and give yourself a realistic time frame to complete it.

Humans need to focus on something in order to obtain and maintain a routine and in terms of your mental health, having a routine and focussing on your aims and goals really helps you to deal with other things in your life that might not be going as well as you would like.

So New Year is here, find your motivation and get planning, set your goals and aim high.

Be kind to yourself