Alright, truth time. (With some advice sprinkled in).
I’m a mental wreck from December through early March.
The highs don’t feel very high (if they exist at all), and the lows are always right there, waiting to pull me down in the depths.
It’s a weird thing. It’s incredibly difficult to describe.
That said, I know it’s shockingly common
in these upper latitudes. Perhaps you feel it too.
I haven’t solved it yet, but here are some things that I see.
– Getting the hell out of the gray for a bit. It’s like someone turns on the color and the happy machine again.
– Exercise
– Community
The latter two are the point of this post.
What I notice most is my lack of motivation that’s replaced with a desireto just sit in it. It’s less appealing to go outside, to workout, and to see people.
Yet, those are the exact things I need.
Take this morning for example.
When I opened my eyes at 445 I was face to face with the monster.
Didn’t wanna get up, so I lay in bed too long.
Eventually I did, but I could only do 30 min on the Peloton. However, at the end of the 30 min, I felt 3x better.
Then I went to the gym for an appointment. In all honesty, I didn’t want to go.
Yet the instant that I walked in the door, when I heard the music, when I heard all my friends, and I heard the communal energy, I felt like I got hit with a bolt of happy lightning.
Then, I walked into the back room to see some of our members finishing their workouts with a group of people cheering them on.
Then the happy faucet was on full blast.
Ironically, I bet most of the people in that room went through the same struggle I did this morning.
Didn’t want to get up, didn’t want to workout, just wanted to sleep until spring.
Yet they pried themselves out of bed, and made themselves go do the things they knew they needed to do (whether they even knew why).
So here’s the point: Winter will always be gray and cold.
You’re probably going to feel some sort of lack of motivation and even depression.
Unfortunately, those two things feed off each other.
While I’m not a doctor, I can tell you that exercise, community and laughter will make you feel better, even if getting there feels impossible.
Last, it’s probably not an end all fix. As I said, I deal with it daily, and I’m hyper aware of how to fix it.
But striving for victories in the daily battle will make it better.
Pushing through your lack of motivation to move and to see people may feel like the hardest thing you do all day, but you will feel better on the other side.
If you need some help with your community or your motivation, book a No Sweat Intro here and find how how we can help.