{"id":38308,"date":"2018-02-07T09:20:23","date_gmt":"2018-02-07T14:20:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=38308"},"modified":"2018-02-07T09:20:29","modified_gmt":"2018-02-07T14:20:29","slug":"dont-retire-refire-getting-through-the-winter-months","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=38308","title":{"rendered":"Don’t Retire, ReFire: Getting through the winter months"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Gail Supplee Tatum<\/strong>, Columnist, The Times<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>One thing is for certain, in the winter months, the days are short and the weather is cold and unpredictable.\u00a0 That combination can lead to the \u201cwinter doldrums\u201d.\u00a0 It would be very easy to give in to that and \u201cwait out\u201d the time in hibernation, doing nothing and accomplishing nothing. Productivity and purpose are essential to living.\u00a0 Nothing good can come from waiting out the time, when you\u2019re talking about months. Time is precious and mustn\u2019t be wasted.\u00a0 Besides, if you choose that route, it will leave you empty and unfulfilled.\u00a0 It could lead to a major setback!\u00a0 There is a much better way to move through the winter months.<\/p>\n

Here are four suggestions to follow:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Stick to your daily routine. If you don\u2019t have a routine, the winter is a perfect time to develop one.\u00a0 Developing a routine could begin as simply as getting to bed at night and rising in the morning, at the same time. Eat your meals at the same time every day. \u00a0Make sure your meals include mostly protein and carbohydrates, in the form of fruits and vegetables.<\/li>\n
  2. Move your body. I say move, not exercise, because the word exercise often sounds too rigid.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t have to be, though. It\u2019s a mindset.\u00a0 Movement keeps the body loose and the joints lubricated.\u00a0 It can be as simple as giving a big inhale with arms over your head, eyes looking upward, give thanks for something in your life, then exhale, bringing arms down. Repeat this and smile while you do it.\u00a0 All of us have at least one thing that we can smile about.\u00a0 Walking is another simple way to move.\u00a0 If you are chair bound, move whatever part of your body that you can.\u00a0 You get the picture.\u00a0 You may think it is easy to sit, not move and eat like you\u2019re going into hibernation, but none of that is good for your body OR your mind.<\/li>\n
  3. Expand your mind. The short, cold, winter months are a perfect time to read, organize that room or those closets or drawers that you\u2019ve been meaning to straighten up.\u00a0 It\u2019s a great time to try something new, as well.\u00a0 Take a class to improve on your current trade or learn a new trade.\u00a0 Read books with the subject matter that interests you and that will open your mind, like non-fiction and personal development.\u00a0 If you\u2019re a person who likes to read fiction stories that take you away to another space and time\u2026go for it!\u00a0 The idea is to incorporate what you like into your routine.\u00a0 It\u2019s a fact that if you don\u2019t like it, you will resist it.\u00a0 You may \u201cforce\u201d yourself for a while but the routine won\u2019t last unless it\u2019s a routine that you can see yourself doing where it becomes a part of you.<\/li>\n
  4. Take the time to reconnect. This is the month of \u201clove\u201d. Who have you thought about a lot, recently, and said, \u201cI really need to reach out to them!\u201d Don\u2019t say it, do it!\u00a0 There are many ways to reconnect.\u00a0 Write a note.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t have to be long unless you want it to be.\u00a0 It could be a simple note, telling the person that you miss them.\u00a0 Tell them what you miss about them.\u00a0 Ask them to call you, so that you can set up a time to meet or to have that longer conversation at that time.\u00a0 Rather than a note, you could just pick up the phone and make a call or text or email.\u00a0 The idea is to reach out and reconnect to those who bring joy into your life.\u00a0 We don\u2019t know what goes on in the lives of others.\u00a0 Our very reconnection could be the lifeline that brings a light into that person\u2019s life, who maybe was feeling down about something that happened.\u00a0 That\u2019s the point.\u00a0 That\u2019s why it\u2019s important to act on it, rather than sit on it.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    In changing a few things, the winter months could fly by.\u00a0 Are you noticing that the days are getting a little longer, ever so slightly, a minute longer every day?\u00a0 Pretty soon, we\u2019ll see a robin or the first bud on a tree that\u2019s been dormant.\u00a0 In the meantime, we, as humans, must look for the buds and sunlight within us and know that Spring is coming!<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    By Gail Supplee Tatum, Columnist, The Times One thing is for certain, in the winter months, the days are short and the weather is cold and unpredictable.\u00a0 That combination can lead to the \u201cwinter doldrums\u201d.\u00a0 It would be very easy to give in to that and \u201cwait out\u201d the time in hibernation, doing nothing and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38310,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[245],"tags":[7426,298,785],"class_list":["post-38308","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-featured","tag-retirement","tag-winter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=38308"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38308\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38309,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38308\/revisions\/38309"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/38310"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=38308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=38308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=38308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}