A kinder way…welcome to January!

I’m sure I’m not the only one today who wished I could turn back the calendar to last week, where staying in bed late, analysing the Radio Times as if it had bitcoin hidden in its schedules, and working my way through an entire box of After Eight mints were the main priorities of the day.

But no, it’s now well and truly the new year.

One of my aims for this year is to continue a theme from last year about being kind to myself. 

And I’m therefore grateful that me and my imperfections continue to give me lots of opportunities to practice this! 

This morning, all the wolves were out. 

I didn’t set my alarm this morning because most of my calls today are late afternoon; but immediately I wondered if that was some unseemly sign of my character.

Mid-morning, I was having all the angst about my motivation, wondering if I’m destined to be a non-contributing member of society - because I hadn’t yet made it to my computer.

As I stirred my tea, I mentally fast-forwarded in my mind - to some date around about June - and imagined, what if I can’t actually motivate to do any work all year?! 

I don’t think you need me to point out that this is incredibly unhelpful self-talk. 

Fortunately, I have some tools! 

I said to myself, “Whoa, let’s put this in perspective. You’re finding it hard to get going. Which is understandable after two weeks off. You’re just like probably hundreds of millions of people who right now, are not feeling at their peak motivation.” 

And that was enough to bring me back up to a place where I could be a bit more level-headed. 

Often when we’re struggling with something, one of the tricks our minds play on us is to somehow make us feel that we’re alone with our challenges. 

Our brains will have us think that all over the world - unlike us - everyone else is just getting on with their days, operating at peak productivity, like robots with brand-new batteries as opposed to humans who are emerging from a break from work (or a busy and stressful time of the year) and who’ve forgotten the password to their computers or what we actually do for a living. 

Common humanity helps get us out of this unhelpful thinking. Common humanity is a reminder that everyone struggles, at least from time to time. It’s a part of living. 

To me it helps me remember that I’m not broken. I’m just human. 

So if today has been hard, or you’ve found it a challenge to find your motivation, just remember you’re not the only one. You never are the only one. 

I hope this is a kinder way to approach the first Monday in January.