January: time to stay inside?

It’s January: dark, cold and wet. The fields are fallow and gardens empty of colour. So, perhaps, are our diaries. It can be tempting to rush into filling them, getting busy with work again, with New Year’s resolutions, or escaping to the sun.

Yet this can be an ideal time to stay inside, and for internal, quiet reflection; the lighter evenings and signs of spring will be here soon enough. What do you expect 2018 to bring? How will you make the most of it? If you need inspiration*, how about:

  • Making some new friends by getting involved with your community
  • Doing more exercise, trying a new sport or a regular walk
  • Finding a way to focus your mind, perhaps visiting art galleries or doing tai chi or meditation
  • Learning a new skill, something you’ve always wanted to do
  • Giving back to others – are there people you would really like to help?

* based on five ‘ways of wellbeing’, government research into personal wellbeing

If you might imagine yourself a few years from now: what would you like to be doing? Once you’re clearer about your priorities, it’s easier to take action. But first, give some thought to whose support you might need - who will be affected? How can you get them on board? Think about your finances too: how can you find a way to fund what you want to do?

If you’ve done this planning, yet find you can’t move forward, don’t be too hard on yourself – there will be a good reason. Perhaps you’re not ready to let go of something, or someone, from your past? It might help to talk about it to a friend or counsellor.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author. All articles published on Counselling Directory are reviewed by our editorial team.

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