November Blues

Following is a letter we like to send out every year around this time. All of us are feeling the effects of shorter days and colder weather. This tends to be the HARDEST time of year to feel motivated or energetic. Dr. Bishop wrote this letter in 2008 when he was feeling the "November Blues," and was inspired by a few of his patients' persistence in continuing healthy eating and exercise despite the time of year...he wrote this both for himself and in hopes that it might inspire others who were experiencing their own "November Blues."

NOVEMBER BLUES

I've been very impressed by the number of new people I've seen who are willing to embark on a lifestyle change at a difficult time of year. Now that the clocks are about to turned back and the evenings are longer, it's been tough for a lot of us to crank up that motivation, continue to be careful with our eating and still maintain regular exercise.

What I am starting to see more and more this month are people feeling stuck, unmotivated, fatigued, down or in a rut.

As much as I want to blame this early "winter”, the longer dark nights, the change in our circadian rhythms and "the great Canadian ‘hibernation' response,” it still doesn't change the fact that the way many of us have been feeling is mental and not physical.

In trying to prepare for this article I was re-reading a small book titled "How to be Purpose Driven.” I'm always impressed when I see or hear people who inject into themselves a relentless feeling of positive thinking; they develop (remember I say ‘develop' because they weren't born with this emotion) a sense of being unstoppable, of being in control, of making the internal decision they will accomplish their goal no matter what. More importantly, they work on staying positive and determined even during difficult times. Achieving is an attitude; accomplishing is an attitude. This takes work.

Many of us think we should wake up feeling motivated, focused or purpose-driven, but unfortunately that is not always the case. First, we must realize that having those feelings takes work; negative thoughts must first be made positive, and these positive thoughts must then be transformed to positive feelings. Is this hard? Of course it is! We find it much easier to exist with an internal feeling of negativity rather than forcing our minds to be positive. Why is that? Likely, we believe that the negative feelings are based in reality and positive ones are not.

Take a few minutes and close your eyes; visualize yourself accomplishing everything you want to accomplish this week and next. Don't allow for any obstructions. Visualize yourself eating well, feeling thinner, getting regular exercise, getting good sleeps, getting up and going to work smiling to your colleagues, and telling them you feel "great.” You see, it's possible to give ourselves a sense of "I can do it,” even if it only lasts for a few minutes. By training yourself to think positively for a few minutes, you can learn to think positively for a few hours and even a few days. Is a positive state of mind more enjoyable than a negative one? It most certainly is!

Like everyone else I'm not sure I agree with the slogan: "Attitude is Everything.” Yet, having a negative attitude certainly leaves us in a rut.

To work our way out of this November rut, we must work on our heads; our attitude. Don't allow yourself to stay stuck in the "I just seem to want to eat” attitude or the "I just don't seem to have the energy to exercise” attitude. Turn it around! Create a positive inner self. See yourself "on track, feeling good, eating well and in control.”

If you have difficulty, then get a positive thinking book to help you reframe your thinking.
You can do it. Success truly is there for the ones that never ever give up trying.