“The quieter you become, the more you can hear.”
Only three days into daylight savings time (or simply the month of November for my Arizona friends) and I’m already over it. I mean, it’s dark before 6:00. Not cool.
Can we all please follow the lead of the clever folks in the Grand Canyon state and do away with DST? Sorry, enough of that. My point of this blog isn’t to bitch about DST. My point is the diminishing daylight hours that come with DST and winter in general, and how that can be tough on our wellness, mentally.
My quest began with “work Lindsay” and is transitioning into “Lindsay” in general.
I spend a lot of time here talking about physical health and wellness but I’d like to focus more on mental wellness. Personally, I’ve been trying to focus on and prioritize my own mental wellness efforts in an effort to be a more balanced person and, ultimately, the very best version on me.
A couple weeks ago, I attended a seminar at the MarketingProfs B2B Forum that focused on Mindfulness and Meditation, two concepts that have become important to me. From learning some basics of what each means to taking a few minutes to practice both during the session, I walked away feeling energized and refreshed. The best part? This seminar was delivered by MarketingProfs’ CEO. A man in a very high-stress, high-demanding job took the time to educate us on mindfulness and lead us through a few meditation exercises. Another reason I loved this conference!
Then the day began, stresses started flooding in and the balance was shifted back to typical Lindsay – high-strung, high-standards, sometimes irrational, always 100-MPH Lindsay.
That was okay though! This concept of being mindful is a work in progress. Our mental health is a work in progress and the kind of work that never stops. It, like our physical wellness, is something that must be worked on every day.
Think about it: You stop running, you’re going to lose endurance. Decide leg day is no longer part of your regime, your muscles will become weaker. Mindfulness and mental well-being is no different. Like our cardio threshold and strength, it must be regularly maintained and even pushed if we want to get better.
After a stress-relieving run, Burton joined me in some yoga. #MindfulMonday
This time of year, especially, I welcome you to join me in the quest of greater mental wellness. To slow down and take in more. To step back and see things as they really are. And to take more time to quietly reflect instead of worrying about what hasn’t even happened. If you have strategies that work well or stories of your own personal pursuit, please share them! Kind of like any good squat variations or speed workouts you might have…you can always share those too! I hashtagged #MindfulMonday for the first time yesterday and I think it’s a great start to more mindfulness – and Monday in general.
Do you already practice mindfulness and/or meditation? Is it something you’d consider looking into, especially as sunlight diminishes and our minds naturally fall into a slump? Comment or tweet me @runlikeagirl311 on Twitter.
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