Mindset of Success: The Science of Personal Leadership Development

10 Simple Ways to Beat the Winter Blues

Many of us experience post-holiday winter blues. The excitement of the holidays is over and, for many of us, we’re faced with bills that have piled up over the holidays and several months of dreary weather and shortened days with little time out in daylight.

Here are ten simple and ways to beat the winter blues and enjoy the time before spring comes along… 

1)     Line up your toys. Kids don’t get letdown after the holidays because they enjoy playing with all their toys. Line up 7 of your favorite things (a new pair of boots, a photo album), and enjoy wearing, using, or playing with one of them each day for a week.

 

2)     Have lunch outside in the sun. Winter blues set in and sap motivation, especially during the weekday. Bring a cozy jacket to work and make a practice of eating your lunch outside in the sun for an instant pick-me-up.

 

3)     Bundle up and look at the stars with a cup of hot chocolate. What’s the best part of cold weather? Hot chocolate! And beautiful clear, crisp nights. Go outside and look at the stars once a week to enjoy the benefits of winter. 

 

4)     Avoid the urge to splurge on post-holiday sales by arranging a free or low-cost event to look forward to such as a potluck dinner with friends.

 

5)     Lead a meaningful activity. Nothing boosts energy and motivation like passion for an important cause. Pick something you believe in and lead the cause—start a team to walk in a race for cancer, create an educational pamphlet on adopting a pet… whatever matters to you.

 

6)     Plan an annual winter activity to look forward to. Some of my friends have an annual Groundhog’s day party where they turn up the heat in their house and everyone comes in bathing suits and shorts—feels just like summer.

 

7)     Watch a home improvement show and redecorate a room in your house you’re your favorite makeover. Give yourself a fresh post-holiday start with a new environment. Use furniture and decorations that you already have and surprise yourself with the new combinations. Add bright pops of color for an added boost.

 

8)     Start a piggy bank. Save up all your change and watch how quickly it adds up. Use the money to invest in savings or pay of your credit card debt.

 

9)     Have a garage sale. Declutter, get rid of old, unwanted items, and make money all at once!

  

10)  Grab a friend and together learn a new outdoors activity, like snowshoeing, cross country skiing, or ice-skating. The more unlike something you’d ever do, the better.

 

Use these tools, and allow them to stimulate other creative ways that work for you to end the winter blues and begin enjoying the season.

Experiencing and Expressing Gratitude this Holiday Season

If you're like most people, you're cutting back on extravagent gifts this holiday season. I think that this is a good thing because it helps us to focus on the true spirit of the holidays and giving, rather than the gifts themselves.

It helps us to focus on all that we DO have in our lives and what we're thankful for. I've done a daily gratitude practice for almost a decade now, and I recommend it to my clients for them and to do with their kids. I find that in a tight economy, I focus more on the every day things that I may normally take for granted.

One of my friends does a gratitude tree with her kids (each day they add a leaf that features somethng they're thankful for). Recently her children have said things like, "The sink because it gives us clean running water." They are in no danger of not having water themselves but are learning to really appreciate all that they do have.

I think this is why I'm more excited about the holidays this year than I've been on recent years.

What are you grateful for this holiday season? If it involves other people, how can you let them know?

The answer to this may also lead to some creative and free gift ideas (such as offering to do the dishes every day for a month). And the focus on gratitude (for yourself, your kids, and others) is the best gift of all.

Happy Holidays!

Larina

7 Simple Steps to Improving Your Optimistic Outlook

What is the key to earning more, achieving higher career levels, and happiness?

We can summarize in one word: optimism.

A plethora of research has now accumulated which links an optimistic outlook to all kinds of positive things, from higher sales to improved relationships.

Some people are more naturally optimistic than others but anyone can improve their optimism quotient. It’s a habit, and developing this habit is simply a matter of training your thoughts and actions to move in that direction.

Here are 7 simple, actionable tips to help you boost your optimism and see all kinds of wonderful results:

1)     Practice gratitude daily. Focus on what you’re thankful for to improve your positive outlook. Each day write down or think of 3 things that you appreciate about your life in general or what’s happened that day

2)     Ask yourself what’s the best that could happen. Pessimists focus on the worst thing that could happen, and optimists focus on the best. While it can be smart to also consider what could go wrong (see #5), the idea is to really focus your energies on what could go right.

3)     Give yourself credit for successes. Do not attribute your successes to things like luck or the situation. When you do this, you feel that your achievements are precarious—like they could change at any time because they are not really due to you. Instead take responsibility for your role in them. (This is called internal locus of control.)

4)     Give external factors credit for failures. Rather than beating yourself up and assuming that you always mess up, recognize external events that can explain the situation, things like a poor economy, insufficient resources, and the role of others. You can then problem solve to reduce the likelihood of these things happening in the future.

5)     Have a failure plan. A healthy level of optimism does not involve being in denial that things can go wrong. Instead plan how you’d handle them in the unlikely event that they didn’t go as you’d like. Then return to focusing on what you want to happen (see #2).

6)     Ask yourself “what else?” If you find yourself thinking “what if…?” and  catastrophizing about negative things that can happen, ask yourself “What else could happen?” You’ll see that many positive outcomes could happen as well.

7)     Suspend judgment. Sometimes it may not be the best idea to have a positive expectation or judgment, but it’s also not the best idea to get into a negative mindset. Assume a neutral stance by telling yourself that the situation is not inherently good or bad and that you’ll wait and see how it plays out.

As you can see, an optimistic outlook involves at times wearing rose-colored glasses and choosing to look at the positive side of things. Authentic optimism also involves staying neutral and looking at all parts of the equation before making the assumption that it won’t go well.

Healthy optimism involves both how you approach situations and how you interpret them after they occur. A positive outlook before a situation entails focusing on how you want it to go and assuming that you can handle it. A positive outlook after a situation entails looking at internal attributions for success and external attributions for failure.

You may be reluctant to put on these rose colored glasses, thinking that you want to be more “realistic.” I say, give it a try. After all, it has been proven to be helpful.

Thoughts? Post them on my blog here.