Renewal



My friend Peter Goral introduced me to the following quote when he commented on my LinkedIn post “Do-Over.”

"No matter how hard the past, you can always begin again"

For one reason or another, we may feel down, emotionally under siege or overwhelmed from our critical self-talk, but we can always stop and pivot and shift our perspective or mindset.

I’m not a fan of winter. I don’t like getting up in the morning when it’s cold and dark and dreary. Sometimes there’s snow on the ground that is just waiting to be shovelled. One morning I received a surprise. I was dragging the recycling bin to the curb when I slipped on a piece of ice on the road. I could feel myself falling. Although my hip hit the ground, I rolled over to break my fall. I burst out laughing. Not only did I escape from hurting myself, but I received a sense of delight from rolling around on the ground! In that moment in time, winter was not so humourless and dreary, and I had a reason to laugh at myself and looking silly! (I haven’t tried this lately, but maybe making snow angels on the ground will shift your perspective about winter as well!)  

I was reminded this week that snow shovelling could be considered a work-out and so maybe snow shovelling is not as dreary an activity as I think it is. Here is a CBC video “Shannon Martin on snow shovelling safety” to remind us about doing stretches prior to shovelling, shovelling sooner rather than later (as fresh snow weighs less) and stop shovelling if you’re experiencing pain.   

I’m one of those people who sends out Christmas cards and individual holiday greetings on LinkedIn. It’s a way to let people know that you’re thinking of them. I feel good when I send out cards or messages. If you are feeling down and want to shift your perspective, you may want to do something nice for other people thereby helping yourself in the process.          

This is the time of year when people make New Year’s resolutions. 

But when you think about it, we don't have to wait for a change in the calendar. We could give ourselves a fresh start (or feel a sense of renewal) every day with a shift in our perspective or mindset.

Originally Published on LinkedIn:  December 17, 2016
Image Credit:  Pixabay 



 


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