Ask Jill: What I learned from walking my dogs this morning…
It seems the winter months give me the blues. I notice that I am more “on edge” and not as motivated. Now that spring has sprung (sort of), what tips do you have for us to keep our chins up in this tough recruiting environment ?
Sincerely,
Blue in Baltimore
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Hey, Blue,
I saw some Iris’ start to pop their pretty, purple heads up with morning will I was out with the pups, so, yes, spring is certainly in the air.
Don’t get down on yourself for having the blues during the winter months. If you live in a cold and snowy climate, it can wear on you. Although, please remember that if you feel this is a significant problem, consult your doctor.
This morning, I took my two pups out for their morning walk. It was brisk, but I could actually smell dirt. I know you’re thinking, “huh?”. Well, I live in New England and things here have been frozen solid for the last three months. So, when I say I smelled dirt – I mean it. Things are thawing and I am happy about that.
On my walks, I always take the time to evaluate how the week is going. I especially like to check in with where I am with my attitude and my thoughts. It’s funny, many of us go through our week without really checking in. We kind of react to what’s happening around us and deal with it, right? Well, as I continued along my walk I thought, how much of the irritating or annoying things that happen during my week are actually created, or aggravated, by my own thoughts. Hmmm, maybe I was on to something?
Think about it. When we are having great days, nothing can get us down. We roll with the punches, have a positive attitude, and generally are a lot of fun to be around. When you actually breakdown the events of the day, we could have easily put a kink in it by getting irritated or pouty if something didn’t go “exactly right”, but we didn’t and the end result is that things went great. Now, let’s reverse it. You wake up on the “wrong side of the bed”, get up, stub your toe, knock over the alarm clock, and trip over the dog. Then, the shower is cold, you run out of eggs, and you forget to charge your cell phone. And, this happened all in a span of 30 minutes! So, for the rest of the day, bad things continue to happen. You forget your wallet, your boss gives you the hair eyeball because you’re late, and you realize that your fly has been down. Argh! When will it end?
What’s your natural inclination in this circumstance? Laugh it off and go merrily on your way? Or, like me sometimes, do you let is ruin the rest of your day? I think we’re all guilty of it!
I propose to you that we try to nip all negative attitudes in the bud before our feet even hit the floor in the morning. Let’s try it for three days straight. If things start to go south, put on a song that has you dancing in the kitchen, or even go into the bathroom and make silly faces in the mirror. Whatever it takes to shift your thinking.
The theory is that whatever you focus on expands. Focus on having a great day – more than likely, your day will be great. Focus on the abundance in your life – abundance continues and expands. Now, let’s add one more part into the equation – giving. There is a theory that whatever you give to someone comes back to you in the exact amount that you gave. Give a compliment – get a compliment. Buy a coffee for a friend — you’ll get the equivalent back. Now, that is pretty cool.
So, what’s our plan for the next three days? Positive thoughts, positive attitude, and giving. Report back to me and let me know how it goes! That includes all of you reading this.
Good luck! You’ll do great!
Jill