Thoughts On Winter

The end of winter is a really tough place for me. It's really easy to let the lack of sunshine and cold weather get the best of your mood. All of a sudden, everything seems like a chore. Activities that are usually fun or make me feel accomplished start to seem tedious. It takes everything in me to not go into hibernation mode. And this year? The Pacific Northwest actually got slammed with snow!  That's right - for the past four days, most of this city has completely shut down. Symbolic, eh?

While I don't think there is anything wrong with allowing yourself a lazy day here and there, I have a tendency to take it to the extreme. Old habits die hard, guys. I will take a lazy day and eat/sleep myself into a hole. Ugh...so yeah, that's just not an option for me right now.

So I've been trying something new: active rest.

Just like an active rest day in fitness means still staying active while not pushing yourself too hard, I'm doing the same for my brain and soul.  Here's what I got so far...

-Reading a really great book. I just finished The Fault in Our Stars and Hyperbole and a Half. I cannot recommend both of these enough. Currently reading? Gone Girl and loving it. Reading has always helped to inspire me and snap me out of a crap mood.
-Writing. Something. Anything. I've been writing a little bit more than usual. I have a very big dream of publishing a collection of short stories someday. But first I actually have to start writing again, so there's that.
-Cooking and baking (and maybe indulging a little? Yeah that happened.)
-Short dog walks in this ridiculous weather. Rufus isn't a fan of all this slush (he loves the snow, but now that it's melting it's basically the grossest mess ever), but we both still really love getting some fresh air so we're keeping it short and sweet.
-Quick and efficient workouts.  HIIT and yoga mostly.
-Meditation. Even if I just shut off my brain for a few moments during those nippy dog walks, it really helps my sanity.

So that's all I got for now. How do you stay sane during these cold, dark months?