10 Tips to Beat the Winter Blues: Tip Number Four

SAY ‘HELLO’ TO A STRANGER

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I was recently inspired to share 10 tips on how our surroundings might help improve our mood and outlook.  To read more about what inspired me, see my post on LinkedIn Pulse HERE.

My FIRST TIP was about losing your mind in the present.  My SECOND TIP was about letting someone else guide you for a day.  My THIRD TIP encourages you to try something new or something that you haven’t done for a long time.

The fourth one is about greeting someone you don’t know.

In the US, when people walk by each other – on the beach, the park, walking the dog – they always acknowledge each other by saying “good morning” or “hi” or by simply nodding and smiling to an oncoming person.  I always thought it was a strange ritual, and yet, somehow, when it happens to me, I notice that a simple ‘hello’ from a stranger creates a small bond between us.  And once I reciprocate twice or three times, it stops feeling strange.  It gives me a feeling of familiarity, a sense of community and belonging.  So I ask myself: ‘What is it that makes a simple greeting by a stranger bring on this sense of belonging?’

This reminds me of a scene from the film Avatar, when Neytiri (a female of the Na’vi indigenous species of the planet Pandora) teaches Jake (the human Marine in the avatar Na’vi body) how the Na’vi people greet each other.  The Na’vi say “I see you!” by which they mean a lot more than the plain meaning of the words.  The greeting means that they take full notice of your feelings at the time of the greeting, and fully acknowledge you as a being.

This type of greeting is not just words thrown out there for politeness or for the sake of a cultural ritual; when used authentically, they have the power of lifting up a person and making us realise we’re part of something bigger than the self.

The strength of conveying all those thoughts and emotions is what makes saying ‘hello’ to a stranger so powerful.

So my tip today is to try saying ‘hi’ to someone you don’t know next time you’re out and about.  It won’t feel right for a few times, and people might look strangely at you at first.  But if the situation lends itself to it – maybe as you walk into a bakery or the butchers, or when you see a sales assistant standing around – when it wouldn’t be completely out of the realm of appropriateness to say ‘hi’, go ahead and say it to as many people as you can, and take notice of how it makes you feel.  I bet the effect will surprise you!

Next tip: reconnect with a loved one.

10 Tips to Beat the Winter Blues: Tip Number Three

DO SOMETHING NEW!

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Last week I arrived in Florida and was inspired by its surrounding beauty.  I wanted to share how we might be able to bottle some of the natural boosts that our surroundings might provide to improve our mood and outlook.  To read more about what inspired me, see my post on LinkedIn Pulse HERE.

My FIRST TIP was about losing your mind in the present.  My SECOND TIP was about letting someone else guide you for a day.

My third one is about trying something new or something that you haven’t done for a long time. 

When we get to a certain age in our lives, we get into a comfortable routine.  We know what we like and don’t like; we know what we’re good and less good at.  But, like our bodies, our brains need exercise.  And the more we continue to do the things we’re comfortable with, the less of a chance our brain gets to exercise.  Its craving to form new synapses can only be satisfied by doing something that’s unfamiliar to it.

So if you have a routine of exercising your brain with crossword puzzles, or Sudoku, or by reading a certain genre, or even having a physical exercise routine, your brain is not really getting the exercise you intend for it as it is already used to the routine.  If you want to breathe new life into your brain and clear out the cobwebs, you need to give it a new challenge!

My recommendation is to try something completely new or doing something that you haven’t done in a long time!  Is there something you had toyed with trying so many years ago that you never found the time for?  Well, if you’re the type of person that makes new year resolutions, this might be a good one!

It can be anything: from cooking a new dish to trying rollerblading to rock climbing to singing in a choir to painting to learning a new language to learning ballroom dancing to readying Greek mythology (or anything else that will expand your horizons) to making a new acquaintance.

You catch my drift.  Giving yourself a new challenge is not only good for the mind, it’s good for the soul and the body too.

Next tip: “Say ‘hello’ to a stranger!

10 Tips to Beat the Winter Blues: Tip Number Two

PLAY ‘SIMON SAYS’!

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Last week I arrived in Florida and was inspired by its surrounding beauty.  I wanted to share how we might be able to bottle some of the natural boosts that our surroundings might provide to improve our mood and outlook.  To read more about what inspired me, see my post on LinkedIn Pulse HERE.

My FIRST TIP was about losing your mind in the present – drinking in our surroundings and noticing things about them that we would usually simply overlook.

Today’s tip- Play ‘Simon Says’ – is about relinquishing control and letting someone else guide us.

Let’s face it, we live in a world of individuals who know exactly what they want and how they want it, and insist on controlling every aspect of their lives.  Think about it:  how many small businesses have sprung up over the last decade or so that specialise in variations on a theme and are, in that way, so unique that we must go to them only!   Think of the different coffee chains – we all have our favourite and wouldn’t dream of going into a different one!  And the fast food restaurants that keep reinventing themselves based on the discerning tastes of their ‘unique’ target market.  Think also about the various networking organisations delivering capsules of social interaction with ‘like-minded’ people.

Everything in our lives, from how we dress to what we eat to who we choose to socialise with is tightly controlled by each individual.  All these choices are helpful, even necessary, we believe.

But I’m reminded of a friend who arrived from Australia about 20 years ago, and found the choices so overwhelming, they drove him mad!  He’d walk into a pub and say ‘Can I have a beer please?’. ‘What kind of beer would you like?’ ‘Any type!’ he’d respond.  And the bartender would proceed to list the various types of lagers and ales on tap and in bottles that are available. My friend would just have to close his eyes and point in frustration to something on tap.  ‘Why can’t they just give me a beer?  Any beer?  Why do we need to have a gazillion choices?’.

Coming from a culture that is full of choices to make every day, I never asked myself that question and took it for granted that more is better!  But is it?  What is it about choices that makes them better?  Is it the fact that we like to control every aspect of our environment to feel complete?  What would happen if, for one day, we didn’t make choices and let someone else make them for us?

Wouldn’t it be a refreshing change if– just for one day – we did not have to think for ourselves and danced to someone else’s tune? That’s quite a tall order for someone like me who is positively a ‘control freak’!  And yet, there is something very relaxing about not having to make decisions for a change, not to have to consider the pro’s and con’s of every move we make, and to simply follow the guidance of someone we trust.

So my tip today – for just one day – is to put yourself in the safe hands of a trusted partner or friend and to let them make all the decisions about food, drink, entertainment – whatever!  Just for one day!  Give up being the captain and enjoy being the co-pilot!  You’ll be surprised at how relaxing and refreshing that will feel.  Give it a go!

My next tip is ‘Do something new’…

10 Tips To Beat The Winter Blues: Tip Number One

 

Lose Your Mind

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Last week I arrived in Florida and was inspired by its surrounding beauty.  I wanted to share how we might be able to bottle some of the natural boosts that our surroundings might provide to improve our mood and outlook.  To read more about what inspired me, see my post on LinkedIn Pulse HERE.

Today’s Tip is about letting go and being entirely consumed by the ‘here and now’.  Some people call it meditation, others mindfulness, but to me, it is simply a way to take in the present to the exclusion of everything else that concerns us.

Let me show you what I mean.  When I went for that inspirational first run on my arrival in Florida, I made a point of noticing what surrounded me.  I noticed what was growing underneath my feet, I noticed the different shapes of leaves on the innumerable types of vegetation around, I noticed the different colours of the blossoms on them.  I took in the different types of ducks and birds and their love affair with the sun – they all seemed serene and content with their lives – and the scent that lingered in the air that reminded me of a soft Spring meadow.  I let all these senses take over my mind and gave in to their pull, letting go of anything else that may have been lingering in the back.

Now, I’m one of those people who finds it difficult to relax – running your own business is probably part of the issue, but I just seem to thrive on chaos!  Sometimes, however, the buzz of a busy life is so overwhelming that the mind needs a rest and time to recharge its batteries.  Losing your mind, therefore, in something simple like your surroundings is as easy as it is therapeutic.  And only takes a few minutes.

The best part is, you don’t need to travel to warmer climes to get the benefits of this exercise!  You can lose your mind wherever you are by simply noticing the little things around you.  So next time you walk along to the store, look around and see what you notice:  how old is that building you just passed?  Is there anything interesting about its architecture?  Does it tell a story of any kind?  And what about the faces of those who pass you on your way?  What are all these people thinking or feeling?  Can you guess from just looking at them?

How about an outing to an art gallery or a concert?  And when you’re there, can you lose yourself in a painting?  Really see what the story the artist is telling us?  Why did he/she paint the picture in that particular way?  And what about that music piece?  What story does it hold?  Where does your mind take you when you close your eyes and listen to it?

These are only a few ways of losing your mind for only a short while.  But the benefits are regenerative! Try it and let me know what you think.

My next tip in a few days will be “Play ‘Simon Says’!”