Posted on 21 Feb, 2009 -
Cheering up February!
* Stay safe on icy roads - the best tips I’ve found for driving in the snow.
* February too gloomy? A few ideas for sprucing it up…
* If you could have this year all over again, what would you do differently from how you’re about to live it now?
I’m not really allowed to be fed up in February because it’s my daughters birthday month. In fact, as you receive this email, I will probably be halfway through birthday party hell - blindfolding children for pin the horn on the unicorn, dealing with howlers or frantically un-clingfilming sandwiches.
In honour of all the hectic party fun (and obviously partly because of it), my offerings for you this week are a party smorgasbord of a few random tips for fun, safety and perkiness in February....
* If you’re driving in icy or snowy conditions remember that the less you need to break the better so drive even slower and more smoothly than you think you need to and make sure there’s always lots of distance between you and other vehicles. Think about any stop you need to make a long time before you normally would. Especially at junctions, plan to come to a stop a few meters before where you actually want to stop in case you over shoot. Brake gently, applying slow pressure rather than breaking suddenly. If you start to slip when you’re starting from a standstill, put less pressure on the accelerator.
* Remember that today is always the first day of the rest of your life. You can start today as if with a completely clean slate and make what you want of it. You can let go of any old memories or habits and start anew with completely new ones. You are allowed to change the way you are!
* If you’re feeling a bit down and that everything’s a bit dreary, then why not try sprucing things up. Go the extra mile on your looks this week, aiming to look dapper, cheerful and well-groomed. Wear brighter colours. Spend longer in the bathroom.
* It might also be a good time to do something to spruce up your home. Clean windows to let more light in and add brightness to your home. Light candles for warmth and homeliness - or turn lights up bright to pretend that it’s sunny. Spend half an hour in the garden making things look smarter. Find a corner of the house that’s been getting you down and do something about it. It may even be really cathartic just to take old rubbish to the tip!
* If you’re finding it hard to cope then how about stopping coping? Allow yourself to be weak for once or have a mini breakdown! Let others do just a little bit of your work for you for a change. Would it really be that difficult?
* Have a party to celebrate the imminent arrival of Spring.
* Rent a really funny movie.
* Think of 5 people in your life that you’d like to make happy and do a small thing to add a real moment of happiness for each of them.
* And final question: If you could have this year all over again, what would you do differently from how you’re about to live it NOW?
