With the end of Daylight Savings Time and the early onset of dark afternoons, it’s easy for gloom to creep in. You may know or are a person who experiences Seasonal Affective Disorder (otherwise known as SAD). The reduction of daylight and cooler temperatures can create a change in brain chemistry leading to feeling…sad.
And our reason for feeling low may be compounded by too much travel or not enough, too much work or not enough. Whatever it is, the sadness can represent a discrepancy between what we want and what we have. Conventional wisdom suggests two remedies – modify your situation or modify your attitude and what you require. Both call for a shift in either mind or action and both can be good advice.
And yet when we feel down, big shifts may feel overwhelming.
Do you remember that McDonald’s commercial, Give Yourself a Break Today? Going to eat a burger and “biggie fries” is usually not the break you are looking for, but there are others that will make you feel good. Even small ones. I just bought a bunch of flowers at Costco – no reason except they were pretty and I love arranging them.
Will they “fix” my sadness? Maybe not, but what they will do is put a smile on my face, give me a lift so I can move on to the more important shifts that are mine to make. And that is the best news of all.
We have the power to make the changes we want to make in our own lives. But start with something small, see where that beautiful baby step takes you…
Let me know what you do.
Until next Tuesday,
Elizabeth