This is the Finding Her Sparkle podcast and I am your host Amy
Rankin. I'm an emotional intelligence
and well-being coach and a mum of two and I am here to help you
find your sparkle again. We are going to chat about
mindset, mum life, self development and basically
helping you to learn how to be a happier version of you.
I'm here to help you understand yourself more, feel less
overwhelmed, more self confident and to navigate the ups and
downs of life. If you're ready for all of that
and more, let's get into today's episode.
Hello and welcome to episode 132 of the Finding Her Sparkle
podcast. Welcome back.
In today's episode, we are going to talk about something that
I've been noticing not only within myself, but with so many
of my clients lately. Honestly, in the last week, I
would say at least every second client has been noticing this.
And I thought I have to do a podcast episode because if I
feel like this too, I'm sure there is so many other people
that are feeling like this. It's that flat, disconnected
feeling that creeps in when winter hits, you know, it's like
your normal routines, they start to feel heavy.
You feel like you're really pushing yourself.
You're feeling like, Oh my God, why am I so unmotivated?
Why am I feeling flat? Why am I not feeling like my
kind of happily happy, sorry, bubbly like excited self?
You're really pushing yourself to do the routines that you
would normally do. And you're really trying to
like, you know, do your like, 6:00 AM walk even though it's
like freezing and pitch black outside or, you know, whatever
the normal things are that you would normally do in a routine
that is just feeling hard. So we are going to unpack how
our energy, our habits, and our motivation naturally shifts with
the seasons. I'm also gonna talk to you about
how to stop beating yourself up for slowing down and how to
actually live in alignment with winter and why this is
important. Like why this actually happens,
why this is actually a thing. And yeah, just thinking about
like emotionally, mentally, physically, practically.
I'm also going to share some mindset tip, mindset tips,
sorry, and routine tweaks that are just going to help you to
feel more grounded, more connected back to yourself, more
energetic, and yeah, just feeling more like yourself.
We're going to cut through that negative self talk and we're
just going to be feeling like a better version of yourself
because that's what we all want right now.
Before I start to talk about this and you know, our routines,
winter, all of that kind of stuff, let's get into the
recommendation. I actually had another one that
I was going to talk about, but I'm going to leave that for next
episode because as I was writing my episode notes, I was like, Oh
my gosh. Of course I have the perfect
recommendation for this episode, which we're going to talk about
a little bit later. But it is my sunrise lamp from
or sunrise alarm clock. Sorry from Amazon now if you
guys follow me on Instagram, you would know there's like a few
things that have actually been popping off on my Amazon lately
because people are loving them so my sunrise alarm clock is 1.
My other one is my walking pad and my other one is my Galaxy
lamp. They're like my top three faves
and I actually just bought something else this week, but
I'm going to test it out first and make sure that it's OK and
works well before I recommend it.
So if you don't know what a sunrise alarm clock is,
basically, So what I've done is I've set it up that essentially
I want to be awake by 6:00 AM, but I've noticed, especially in
winter and again, we're going to talk about this in a second that
when my alarm goes off, I I just like have that like, oh, feeling
straight away. Like I just, I can't be
bothered. I feel flat.
I'm feeling disconnected from myself.
I'm really like forcing myself to get out of bed and I'm just
not starting the morning and not starting the day in the way that
I want to be feeling. And So what I do is I've got it
set to 6:00 AM. So then what happens is it gives
half an hour and it's got like a little lamp on it.
You can set the colour that you want it to be, you can set the
brightness and it gives you half an hour.
So the lamp actually comes on very dim at 5:30 AM.
So I've set it that I want it to increase over this time space of
half an hour and it just gradually gets brighter and
brighter that then by the time. So I actually woke up this
morning at 5:59, so the actual alarm itself hadn't even gone on
yet, but my body clock was waking me up because the lamp
was bright and I was like, oh, it's just a nice way to wake up.
I feel like I'm naturally waking up.
And then I just kind of laid there for a minute.
The alarm went off, which is like birds chirping, which I
love. It's not this like anyway,
that's my recommendation. The link is in my Instagram bio
and I will also put it in the episode show notes for you as
well if you're interested in getting one.
I love it. I know that there's a few people
that have been following me that have purchased it that have
posted about it on their Instagram stories recently and
said they love it as well. So yeah, if you find it
difficult to wake up in the mornings, it's been an absolute
game changer for me, especially because I've noticed that when I
am being woken up by the kids say like Ollie comes in and it's
like 6:15 and he's like in my face straight away.
That also makes me feel a bit frustrated.
Like I just feel like I just, I just want that brain space for
myself in the mornings, even if it's just for two minutes before
I'm being needed elsewhere by other people and catering to
other people. So I feel like this has really
helped with that. OK, let's jump into why you're
not lazy, why winter changes how you feel.
I'm actually going to give just a quick little education section
first on seasonal affective disorder because this is an
actual thing and this is what I've been chatting about with my
clients. But I've actually done a little
bit more research into what it is, why it happens, so that you
can have a little bit more awareness and understanding for
yourself around why you're feeling like this at the moment,
if this resonates with you. Because when we can have
understanding for ourselves, for our bodies, for our feelings, we
can have more compassion and empathy rather than judgement
and negative self talk. So basically seasonal affective
disorder is a type of depression related to changes in seasons.
It most commonly occurs during winter.
And these are the reasons why. OK, so research shows that Sid
or seasonal affective disorder, funny that the acronym is SAD,
effects up to 10% of people in colder climates specifically,
and women are up to four times more likely to be diagnosed than
men. So basically, it's because we
have shorter days in winter, which means that there's less
sunlight exposure, right? So the sun is up later in the
morning and it is down earlier in the evening.
So less sunlight exposure means we have reduced serotonin, which
means we also have melatonin disruption.
So serotonin is our feel good hormone, melatonin is our sleep
hormone. So we've got our reduced happy
hormones. We also have our sleep hormone
disruption. Both of those things go together
to equal mood dips and just not feeling ourselves.
And it doesn't mean that this has to be super extreme or every
single minute of every day or all the time, but we just
noticed that we create an understanding and awareness of
like, OK, there's a reason why on some days or in some moments,
I'm just not feeling like myself.
I don't feel like I've got the energy levels that I would
really love to have basically. Also, what we're looking at is a
lot of the time during winter, because it's colder outside,
we've got more time indoors, which also means probably
reduced movement and overstimulation from more screen
time, whether that's more screen time or maybe it's just in
general, like maybe you're inside with the kids more often
and you notice your kids are just a bit more energetic when
they're inside, stuff like that. So I actually have a note and a
bit of a second recommendation for this.
What I have started to do, because we are definitely inside
more often, especially on the weekends.
We still are going down to like the skate park and stuff like
that. But like guys, it's cold and I'm
indoors a lot earlier than what we would be.
You know, like the sun doesn't go down sometimes in summer for
daylight savings till like 8:00. We can still be outside at 8:30
and it's still light. Now it's like 5:00 PM, it's
freezing cold outside. It's dark.
I'm I want to be inside. So what I've actually started to
do is I'm still using our TV as like screen time I guess.
But what I've done is I am using those like ambient videos on
YouTube. So my second recommendation,
I've got a few different channels that I follow on
YouTube and I love their videos. So there is Cosy Corner.
Another one that I like is Cosy Room Ambience.
Another one that I like is Jazzy Cafe.
And my last one that I really like is Cosy Little Nook.
So they are four of my favourites.
I've got them saved, I'm subscribed to them and it's
screen time that's not over stimulating and you're not over
consuming. So what I mean by that is, you
know, when we're even listening to podcasts or like scrolling on
TikTok, scrolling on Instagram, watching Netflix, watching
documentaries, watching reality shows, our brain is still
consuming information, right? And So what I have found is when
I have something like Cozy Corner or something on, it's
like light jazz music in the background or sometimes not even
music. There's some that it's like just
like a light rain noise or a crackling fireplace and it
creates that ambient atmosphere that the kids are still happy to
be like playing with their toys or whatever they're doing.
They're not glued to the screen, so they're not getting
overstimulated themselves. And it's also a more calming
environment for me because when they're calmer, I am also
calmer. And they're not like running
around and yelling and then they've got their TV show in the
background, which is not ideally what I'd like to be listening
to. You know, it's the flow on
effect, right? So if you are looking for a bit
more of a like cosy vibe that is more calming for your nervous
system and regulating for your nervous system as well.
I would really recommend jumping onto YouTube and having a look
at some of those or even just search like jazzy ambient music
and just see what comes up and just see what your vibe is like.
Some of them I do it over Christmas time and obviously in
Australia it's summer at Christmas and so we don't get
that like cozy vibe. So I love putting those videos
on when we're like putting up the Christmas tree and stuff
like that. You can find ones that have the
Christmas music if that's your vibe, or sometimes in summer
I'll put on like, you know, it's like you're sitting out on like
a deck overlooking like the Mediterranean Sea and stuff.
So, so many different ones. Choose your vibe.
Now. Also what we want to be looking
at with seasonal affective disorder, that was a bit of a
tangent on reducing overstimulation from screens
from being inside more often. But also something else that we
can be doing with this is adjusting our time duration or
intensity of routines rather than quitting them all together.
Because something that can add to beating ourselves up feeling
bad that kind of all or nothing thinking is, well, normally I
would go outside and go for like an hour long walk along the
waterfront. Maybe it's raining or maybe it's
super windy and freezing cold and you're like, I really don't
feel like going for a walk for an hour in the rain or in the
wind out on the waterfront. OK, cool, don't do that.
But maybe we're just adjusting. Maybe you go for a walk around
the block instead and you're adjusting the time or the
duration. Maybe you go at a different time
of day, maybe you change your routine up altogether.
So these are some things that start to come into play with
seasonal affective disorder that we want to start to understand
because essentially it is normal.
And we tend to feel more motivated in summer because of
the exact opposite of what we were just saying.
The days are longer. So you've got light happening
for longer during the days. And summer the days are warmer,
which for most people, not all people, but for most people will
lead to them feeling a little more bubbly, having a little bit
more energy. Our routines often include more
movement, which equals more serotonin and more dopamine.
And also our routines again, will include more sunshine.
So that in turn also then plays into part with our melatonin and
all of that kind of stuff. So and our circadian rhythms.
So in winter, it is actually biologically normal as a human,
it is biologically normal to slow down.
Think about a bear and why they hibernate in winter.
You know, they do all of the things that they need to do in
summer. They get all of their nutrients
and gather everything together. And then they go and hide in a
cave over winter because it's freezing cold.
They're trying to stay warm. They're preserving their energy.
So obviously we are not a bear, but it's biologically normal as
animals that humans are to slow down.
But the trouble is that society hasn't really adjusted to let us
honour that seasonal shift. And we still have that mindset
that we should be go, go, go, achieving, achieving, achieving.
And that is not to say that we cannot be achieving our goals.
It's not to say that we cannot be living in alignment with the
way that we want to be feeling. It just means that we actually
need to check in with ourselves and see, hang on a SEC, how have
I been feeling? How do I want to be feeling?
And what does that look and feel like for me over the coming
weeks and months? While it's a little bit cooler
because we're going to deep dive into this in a little bit, but
you can still have your goals and you can still have your
action steps that are getting you towards those goals.
It's just that they may look and feel a little bit different, but
the overarching goal itself is the same.
So what I've been noticing over the last two weeks is a lot of
my coaching clients are coming and saying things like, I should
be going for my morning walk. It's just that it's freezing and
it's dark and I just don't feel like it.
But then they get stuck in this and I do it too.
We get stuck in this like push and pull of like, I should do
this. Oh, now I feel bad.
And if you don't do it, then you're beating yourself up for
the rest of the day because you're like, I really should
have gone for my walk this morning.
I said I was going to and I'm a bad person or I'm not good
enough because I'm not motivated enough.
And everyone else is still doing their thing because we're on
Instagram, we're checking social media, we're watching everyone's
highlight reels of them getting all of their shit done, but we
don't know how they're feeling as well.
We don't know that they're not beating themselves up for things
that they haven't done or that they're feeling like they don't
have as much energy as normal or that they really don't feel like
doing the things that they're doing.
You know, we just need to check back in with ourselves.
We don't want to be forcing habits in a season that is
different. We're not forcing summer habits
in a winter habit state, right? I do want to make an important
note for this episode. Like I was just saying, just
because you change your actions towards your goals doesn't mean
you're not still working towards them.
You still have that overarching goal.
So I want to feel like a happy, healthy version of me and maybe
like those sub goals underneath that is moving my body,
nourishing my body with healthy foods and tending to my emotions
and nervous system. There is still ways that we can
do that in winter and it may look different than what it does
in summer, but it doesn't mean that you give up on those things
altogether. Just because it's winter doesn't
mean, OK, well, I don't move my body at all and I'm not
nourishing my body with healthy foods.
We're still doing those things, but we're just thinking about
intuitively how can I do that so it feels good for me so that I'm
showing up in a way that I want to so that I don't feel like I
am forcing myself. So we're really kind of checking
in with, OK, yes, these are, these are still my goals.
I can still have action steps. I'm readjusting rather than
falling into that negative self talk or giving up on my goals
altogether. Because really we don't want to
get to 3 months time once the weather's starting to warm up
again and you're like, oh shit, now I've got to restart all over
again because I've just given up on everything.
And now I'm feeling sluggish because I've given up on
everything that helps me to feel good.
And I've fallen into these routines and these habits that
aren't serving me as well as what they could be.
So I guess like something that kind of resonates with me when I
think about this, when I think about the natural ways that my
eating habits or, you know, nourishing my body is the way
that I like to think about my diet and eating habits changes
over winter is OK. So normally in summer, if I
think back to six months ago, I was pretty happily getting out
of bed, like, you know, around that 6:00 AM, not with not
really much trouble at all, not really thinking about it too
much. I wouldn't say I'm bouncing out
of bed at that time because I'm still up and down with the kids.
But you know, I'm happy to get out of bed.
I'm up. I'm having my Hydra Mama, which
is generally in like a room temperature or like colder like
fridge temperature water. I'm having my greens powder in
another big glass of water, and then I'm, you know, getting the
kids ready, jumping out of the house, dropping them to daycare,
going for a walk, maybe doing a Pilates class before I start
work. My breakfast might be something
like a smoothie. My lunch might be something like
a chicken salad, and my dinner might be something like a lamb
salad with brown rice or something.
So you kind of get the gist. It's like lighter meals.
They're still nourishing. They've still got our fruits and
our veggies and our carbs and our healthy fats.
But it's different in the way that I'm not going to get up out
of bed at 6:00 AM or 7:00 AM in summer and go and make myself a
hot cup of tea and then half an hour after that be making
another herbal tea and, you know, rugging myself up and
probably having a bowl of porridge for breakfast In
summer. It's generally not what I would
lean towards, where in winter I am doing those things.
I'm having a dandelion tea in the mornings.
Like I'm still having my greens powder, but instead of doing
that first thing in the morning, 'cause it's not what I feel like
doing, I have that later on in the morning, you know, So we're
just readjusting. I am having my porridge or my
warmer breakfast options. Maybe I'm making my overnight
oats and or I'm cooking what's it called, the baked wheat beets
or the cheesecake oats and stuff like that.
And I'm making them that I'm having my baked options in the
mornings that are warmer, that is, I feel like it's just more
nourishing, you know, I'm having so much more herbal tea during
the day. You should see my tea drawer at
the moment. We've got the ginger and apple,
the lemon and ginger. I've got a green tea and lemon
that I'm having at the moment. Like so many different options,
that drawer gets touched half as much in summer for me.
I made chicken and vegetable soup for my lunches for this
week, which I don't normally gravitate to in summer.
You get the gist. So thinking about what feels
good for you to just readjust and see what can I change that
is nourishing in this season of life, in this current chapter in
this season of just where we're at in Australia.
So I want to talk about now that you kind of get the gist of why
this happens, what the contributing factors are, let's
actually get into. All right, Amy, I hear what
you're saying. Yes, I'm resonating with it.
I get the point. What can I actually be doing?
Here is some actionable tips and tools.
I want you to lean into being curious and not critical instead
of falling into that negative self talk and I should feel more
motivated. I should be doing this thing.
Use those moments as an opportunity to pause and check
in with yourself and really ask, hang on, what is it that I want?
What is it that I need? So I want to move my body.
OK, How can I do that today? That feels good.
What clues is your mind and your body trying to tell you?
OK so just be curious. Push pause on the critical
thinking. Push pause on the negative self
talk. Push pause on the shoulds.
If you notice any of them coming up, just stop for a minute.
Use that as your awareness point.
Second tip or tool, use a sunrise alarm clock to
stimulate, simulate, sorry, not stimulate simulate sunrise, and
help your body clock fall into that rhythm that you're aiming
for instead of jarring yourself awake.
Something else that you could do around this is you could if you
want to and if you're not super sensitive to light, sleep with
your blinds more open. They don't have to be open
fully, but if possible have them open a little bit because what
that is going to do is let natural light in easier and
earlier in the morning to assist with those circadian rhythms.
So what happens is when our blinds are closed, especially if
you've got block out blinds, your circadian rhythm isn't
kicking in. Your natural body clock is
telling you that it's still dark outside and that you should
still be asleep. So that's why something like a
sunrise alarm clock can be really helpful.
And that's also why even in summer, because the sun comes up
and the sunrise is so much earlier, you still have that
natural light coming in through your blinds, through like the
side of your blinds that you generally are waking up earlier.
So if you can open your blinds even just a little bit
overnight, if you don't have like a street lamp or something
coming straight through and keeping you awake overnight,
that is going to assist your body into falling into those
natural rhythms for you. Next one, we're looking at
mindfully adjusting your meals and nourishing your body with
warmer meals. So all of those things I was
just talking about, thinking about, is there anything I could
be or would be changing that feels more nourishing for me?
That feels like I'm just leaning more towards it.
There is nothing wrong with having a nice warm chicken and
vegetable Curry with some rice for lunch.
There is nothing wrong with that if that's what it feels like you
want to be having. Amazing.
Remember our main things that we're focusing on with nutrition
is protein, healthy fat and carbs.
And if you've got those three things in your meals, amazing.
If you are reducing sugar intake, if you're reducing
alcohol intake, we're leaning towards those healthy herbal
teas. Having a nice warm, you know,
coffee or tea or whatever it is that you like to have in the
mornings that is going to be helping you to be getting your
body to be feeling warmer from the inside out as well, which is
what it's looking for. So we've got some mindset
changes as well. We have a reframe.
This is a mindset reframe. I'm not lazy.
This is my human body's natural cycle with the seasons.
So when you notice that negative self talk coming up or you
notice you're falling into that trap of feeling lazy, of feeling
like you're not as motivated as what you want to be, call it
out. Hang on, hang on.
I can see what's happening here. I've listened to Amy's podcast
episode. I know I'm not lazy.
I know that it's normal in this season of winter for me to be
feeling a little bit more flat or not as energetic as normal.
That's OK. What do I want to be feeling
today and how can I be moving towards that?
What can I do for myself today to move towards that feeling?
You are not lazy. This is normal.
OK? What we're also wanting to do is
be flexible so your winter routines are allowed to be
different. Something that I've been
discussing with a few of my clients this week.
One of my clients yesterday, she noticed normally I feel like I
really hit my peak and my stride during the day of like feeling
super productive in the afternoons.
So I kind of like get some things done in the mornings and
I'm like, you know, doing like the miscellaneous work.
But like after lunch in the afternoons is where I feel like
I really like smash out a heap of work.
I feel super productive. And I feel like what I've
noticed over the last few weeks is that window is smaller for me
because all of a sudden after lunch, I'm like, oh, it's dark
now. And now I'm feeling like I just
want to like get into bed because I'm freezing cold.
So I'm like, OK, cool, we can still utilize that.
You can still have that time and space in the morning to be a
little slower if you want to. But instead of hitting that
stride and that peak at like, say, 1:32 PM, can you bring that
forwards to like 12:00, 12/30? We're just readjusting.
We're not getting rid of it altogether.
But it means that if you're then harnessing that extra hour
beforehand than what you normally would, then maybe that
means that you can kind of lean into, again, that slowness or
slowing down a little earlier in the afternoon instead of forcing
yourself and pushing through when your body and your mind is
like, hey, it's dark now outside, it's actually kind of
cold. I want to start to wind down
myself because you've given yourself that opportunity to
bring that window forwards. You can start to wind down.
So think about how your routines could differ a little Winter
movement could look like an indoor home workout or maybe a
hot yoga class or something. Instead of getting out and doing
that really early morning walk that you would normally do.
It doesn't mean that it has to be different every single time.
Another one of my clients yesterday evening, I said, OK,
So what I'm hearing is you like, your morning walk, right?
And she's like, yeah, like, you know, once I push myself and I'm
outside and I'm there and I've warmed up a little bit, I'm
like, oh, this is nice. Like, you know, it is going to
be a beautiful day. The sun's coming up.
I get to watch the sunrise. It's fresh air, you know, it's
just pushing myself to that. And I said, OK, great, how many
times a week would you normally do that?
And she's like, oh, probably like 4.
And I said, cool, So what about we readjust?
Let's aim for one or two morning walks and then let's aim for the
other one or two days. You're doing a yoga stretch or
you're doing an at home workout. You jump onto YouTube and you
have a look at yoga with Adrian Pilates with Nicole, like, you
know, 30 minute body weight workout, whatever it is that you
feel like doing, but you give yourself the opportunity to lean
into the flexibility that you don't have these rigid rules
that you are forcing yourself to stick to.
It means that then on those mornings that you do decide that
you know what I am going to get up and I am choosing and I'm
going to talk about another reframe in a moment of choose to
that you're not feeling like you're forcing yourself four
days a week. If that doesn't feel good for
you to be getting up out in the early morning cold.
You've got options and you're giving yourself those options so
that you feel like you're leaning into having that
flexibility. If you think about if you tell
your child and they've said to you, I want rice bubbles for
breakfast and you say no, you've got a banana and that's it.
And they're like, well, I don't want a banana.
They're going to have a tantrum, right?
If you're telling a 2 year old to eat something they don't want
to eat and they've told you they want to eat something else,
they're not feeling good about that.
And they will show you all of those emotions.
You still have that 2 year old in AU that's like, hey, fuck
you, don't tell me what to do. I don't want to go for a walk.
It's freezing outside, so we want to find that balance and
that fine line of when am I bringing in discipline?
Because at the end of the day, I know that I still am going to
enjoy this thing and I know that it's going to be good for me and
I feel really good after. And the other side of that fine
line, which is I'm going to recognize my humanness and lean
into my flexibility and give myself another option today and
still allow that to feel good for me.
So find that line of discipline and flexibility and what that
looks and feels like for you. Now, what I wanted to talk about
with that reframe is what we can bring in instead of I have to go
for my morning walk tomorrow because I said that's what I'm
going to do. And then when your sunrise alarm
clock goes off or your alarm goes off in the morning and
you're getting up and you're like, I have to do my walk now
or I should do my walk this morning because I said that's
what I was going to do. We reframe that.
No, I choose to do my walk this morning because whatever your
because is. I choose to do my work walk this
morning because I know I'm going to feel really good after it
because I did my home workout yesterday and I know that
getting out in the fresh air is going to feel really nice this
morning and really refreshing once I get over the cold.
I choose to do my warning walk because I know it's going to
help me to feel good and I can rug up and keep myself warm
while I'm doing it. So bring in these reframes.
It's just as much about taking action as it is about reframing
the way that we are looking at things and perceiving things in
the world. Because your mindset has a
direct impact in how you are feeling.
If you think about if you wake up in the morning and you're
like, oh God, I just can't be bothered and today's going to be
shit. I've got such a busy day.
I've got so much on and I'm just feeling so overwhelmed already.
And you're waking up in that negative headspace and you are
perpetuating that. Of course you're not going to be
feeling good, right? So when we bring in these
reframes and we have compassion and empathy for ourselves in our
human experience. And when we can, when we can
also be intentionable about reframing and changing the
language that we are using in our self talk, we can actively
also change the way that you feel at the same time as well.
And my last one is we are wanting to catch black or white
thinking. So when we are thinking about
adjusting that time or that duration or that intensity of
our routines rather than quitting them all together,
which is what we were mentioning a little bit earlier, catch that
black or white thinking. I'm either going for a walk or
I'm not moving my body at all. I'm either eating 100% healthy
or I am eating a full block of chocolate.
You know, what is that black or white thinking?
For me yesterday, ideally, I would have liked to get to my
Pilates class. It just didn't happen.
One of the kids slept in. I didn't get to daycare drop off
off until later than I normally would.
I missed the normal Pilates class, the second one was full
and by then, like ideally I want to be back at home and getting
into my working day right? So I chose to go for a long walk
instead. It actually ended up being
amazing because I had a lot of different ideas for some
podcasts and did some brainstorming and then I knew
that I had a meeting later that day that I could do on my
walking pad. So I actually ended up getting
nearly two hours of walking in yesterday, which is more than
enough movement for me in one day.
And although it's not ideal and I did have that self doubt
creeping in of like I should, I should.
But then I was like, hang on a SEC.
No, my goal is to move my body. Have I done that today?
Yes, that is a win. So focus on the wins, not in the
gaps of what you feel like you should be doing and where you
feel like you're lacking or missing out.
Focus on the things that you are doing instead of the things that
you feel like you're not doing. OK, so that's all of the tips.
I do have 3 reflection prompts for you before we finish up.
So if you feel like you want to go a little bit deeper with
this, let's think about for you what parts of my routine feel
heavy right now. Think about your last week or
two. What parts of my routine feel
heavy right now? Second reflection prompt.
Am I holding onto expectations that belong to a different
season? What are the expectations that
you are putting on yourself and what do we know?
Expectations lead to disappointment, right?
Am I holding onto expectations that belong to a different
season? And 3rd reflection prompt, My
goodness, my words this afternoon.
What would a nourishing winter routine look like for me?
So we're kind of combining everything that you've been
listening to today, combining those reflection prompts.
What would a nourishing winter routine look like for me?
If it feels good for me, for you, maybe you break that down
into different areas of life, you know, work routine.
If you work at home, maybe you've got the ability to change
things up a little bit if you like.
Even something like you know what I've been doing.
I bought 2 St. track suits because they're amazing and they
are so comfortable and they're not just like, you know, your
average tracksuit set. I've been wearing them with my
bed socks and my slippers while I'm working, but I'm out of my
active wear and I'm wearing outfits that are still feeling
nice that I'm still getting dressed.
But like, I'm not normally going to be wearing bed socks and
slippers while I'm working, right in summer, but that's what
I'm doing. So these are the small changes
that we can be making that may seem so simple, but it is
intuitively checking in with yourself to see what you want
and what you need in the same way that it's as easy for you to
recognize. I'm going to wear more layers of
clothing today than what I normally would six months ago in
summer because that's what my body needs.
That is the headspace and the mindset that we want to be
bringing in with all of the other areas of your life as
well. If I work from home, can I
change my routine around a little bit?
Is there anything I want to adjust?
What does my nourishing and diet look like at the moment that may
be different to summer? What does moving my body look
like that might be different? What does catching up with
friends look like that could be different?
All of these different types of things that we can check in with
to adjust and change intuitively to be more in line with how you
want to be feeling during this season.
OK, so that is it for today's episode.
I am sitting in my beanbag with my mink blanket over me.
So I hope my beanbag hasn't been too noisy for you.
If this episode has resonated with you, please, I really
encourage you and would love if you could take a screenshot and
share it over on Instagram. Tag me and let me know what
shift are you going to make this winter to feel more aligned?
Send me Adm, send it to a friend if you notice that you've been
chatting with a friend or a mum friend that has been feeling a
bit flat, that's not feeling themselves, that's been noticing
some negative self talk coming up.
That is the only way that my podcast is going to be able to
grow and get into more ears is by you guys helping me out with
that because it's just little old me.
I don't have a podcasting network and I am just hoping
that this reaches the ears that it needs to hear to help you to
feel a more fulfilled and more happy and more energetic and
more satisfied and whatever those feelings are that you want
to be feeling life. So thank you so much for being
here with me today. I will see you in our next
episode.