14. The January Blues

And who's had a positive thoughts and feedback on the podcast and, and hearing other stories of other people who I have been in a similar position to. Me and to other founders Going through the last few years of, of lockdown and getting through it. So I thought I'd start by just saying a big thank you to everyone who's been tuning in and, and continues to tune it.

It's it's awesome to know when I speak into the mark frame here, it's being heard by some people, which is, which is very heartwarming. I wanted to do today's show. Focused on, on the new year and especially. One part of the new year that a lot of people struggle with, which is January and the January blues. So I wanted to spend some time today just to talk through how I'm feeling. Some of the things I'm doing to try and get through the very dark month of January.

And and hopefully there's some interesting stuff in here for you that might be. Finally bought, so that's let's get started with the show Now starting the new year. It often feels like if you're on social media or a tool that. A lot of people are racing to get started to be then best selves and to start new habits done you fitness regime start new diets learn new skills and it can sometimes feel incredibly overwhelming.

To see a lot of people seemingly who are nailing life and getting everything in order. Right from the get-go. And I think this year more than ever, I have not been feeling quite like that. I have been feeling. Like having a bit of a slower ramp up a bit more time to, to go go. Go and get stronger. And I've been feeling the actually the first few days are often a good time to. Reflect still. And I would emphasize that Before, starting to do anything new before setting new goals.

I think it's, it's often, often you can get so excited about doing that new thing that you, you don't take the time to, to reflect and look backwards at why things have, and haven't worked in the past and And so I think from my side, I'm still in some ways spending a little bit of time. Looking back at 2021. And What, what the year meant for me, how things went for me and And I think. Even though we're still, we're a few days in, I think there's still. It's not really a race.

Like there's a There's a bunch of time right now where we can be spending it looking at reflecting on the previous year. I'd highly encourage anyone this thing too, to try to do that before setting any sort of new year's resolutions or new. New things in motion. If you spend some time reflecting. It can be really, really valuable for For just understanding more about yourself and being a bit clearer with what, what may be is a sensible thing to take on and what might, what you might struggle.

With and I, I think from my side, you know, I have sat resolutions in previous years and some of those have stuck some of it, but some of those haven't and. I think it's often good to write these down and reflect, like, what were you thinking this time? Last year, maybe even the year before. And how did, how did those things actually turn out in the end? And that's quite it can be quite a humbling experience.

It can be quite a refreshing, but I think it's a good thing to do before, before saying, saying you things in motion. Just remember, there's a time of. Stuff out there right now, a ton of content, a ton of advice on being, being the new, you being, being healthier, being tidy, or being more successful. And The vast majority of it, I think how. Is it's it's well-intentioned at times, but I think a lot of it is.

Is is put there by Paid media publications, or by people that are trying to sell something. And I would just be very conscious before. Taking too much of that to heart. You know, Go easy on yourself and start, start small and start by reflecting. And I think that will help you get a bit more grounded in what, what really needs to matter to you. I think a mistake that can be made is, is jumping in thinking you need to do all of. To do all the things basically. Before.

Before, before really understanding what's most important to you. I think particularly at the moment, We are still in this. God awful pandemic. That has been. Testing all of us for a good two years now. And I think. Sometimes. I think our minds want to escape that. Harsh reality or put it aside, but I think especially So wearing my personal hat now, but also my being a founder, CEO hat.

I think you got to keep reminding yourself of that, that everyone around you, everyone on your team and yourself included. These are not normal times or the new normal is not. It's not. The best place to be. And I think it's really important to try and remind yourself to go a bit easier on yourself. I think that might be a good reason, a big reason why. I'm not feeling like I need to jump into everything at the start of this year. It, it feels like we are.

Running a very long race at the moment, a long marathon. And we're just not sure when it's actually going to end. And. The month of January, at least in the UK is a very dark and dreary month. I'm talking to you now. It's not that late in the evening, but it was pitch black outside. And. It's cold and it's wet. And all of these things combined. With the, with the. With the seemingly endless. Time spent indoors in the same environment, the monotony of it.

Is. Is incredibly testing on each of us and it affects us each in different ways. And I think it's really, really important to try to make sure you. In anything you're setting out to do at the start of this year. Too. To be cognizant of that and to make sure you do. Go easy. And I think importantly, ramp up to anything you want to be doing. You don't need to go all in. You don't need to jump in at the dependent.

And tackle things head on and take huge tasks on, because I think that that is a recipe for ultimately crashing and burning quite quickly. I think. For me at least. Ramping up building. If you habits back into my routine is. Is is what I'm trying to do. And I think rather than setting big audacious goals, I'm trying to reflect on what are the. What are the things I was trying to achieve last year and how can I bake those things into small habits, small daily habits, weekly habits that.

Hopefully I can build up again into more of a routine. And rather than trying to. Say. Paint a picture every day or write a blog post every day or get a podcast episode like this out every single day, trying to think about small, but significant steps towards that, that can be taken. And, and especially starting small and not trying to tackle too much. And so. I've been looking back at some of my daily habits as well.

And seeing how many of them drifted off and dropped off at the end of last year. At least in London at the end of last year, everyone was staying inside trying to avoid catching COVID. And and it's been. I wouldn't be surprised if the majority of people. Listening have, have really struggled to maintain a consistent routine and consistent habits. Right through to the end of last year, because there's so much stuff that's happening in life. That's happening in the world. That is. Doing a toddler.

As to pull ourselves away from getting all of our lives in. The ways we want to. So I think starting small building up, ramping up, and I'm trying to think about your routine more than anything is Is I think. Pretty sensible advice to, to start to start as you mean to go on. I also want to touch on year's resolutions in particular. I think each year.

It seems like when we switched between these two arbitrary points in time, the point where the end of December meets the start of January, we all decide that it's a good time to Set new year's resolutions and. I think that sometimes at sea, not the best place to set new year's resolutions or to set resolutions or major changes in our life.

I think from, from my side, I know that once I've had that Christmas break, I can sometimes feel like I. Have an endless supply of time because they'd been on holiday for a while. I've been relaxing. I've been chilling out and I've not been living my, my normal life, which is actually working day to day. And. Running a team and running a company. And so I would, I would stress that. You know, you don't need to wait for. New years to set resolutions.

And you certainly don't need to fill that because new years has passed that. You've missed the boat to set resolutions. And I also think that actually. Resolutions themselves. Perhaps a little bit superficial To, to actually achieving change that you might want to see in life. And I think one of the most valuable things I've done in the last two years has been working with. A coach to help me. Get clear on what's important in my life.

And one of the things she really encouraged me to do was to define my values. And I really, really felt that this was all nonsense and I even feel slightly cringy saying it now, because I know what I would be thinking, hearing that. Oh, God values. That sound suit. It sounds so cringy. Everything. Yeah, but I think for me, What about actually managed to find is that there are a few areas that I really value highly in my life. And, and I don't think I was clear enough on those in the past.

And now when I think about changes in my life, changes in my schedule, changes in what I want to achieve and what I want to do. They almost always come back to those values and And, and your couple of core things. And I think when you, when you have that clarity, then it can really help you think about how you spend your time about what you commit to. About what you see? No, two.

And about making smaller changes that can actually all add up into a much bigger picture change for you as an individual. So I think for me, it's really been about reminding myself as these values really kind of reflecting on the last year of uh, how well I've been kind of. Living up to those or living with those values and achieving those things that I wanted to achieve. And. Really thinking about which of the habits that I've been successfully keeping, which are the ones I've. Really.

Been rubbish out and need to kind of. Re rethink. And also looking at the ones which just haven't been serving me that great, and being a bit more brutal about whether or not I should keep them or just get rid of them and allow myself to focus that time elsewhere. So I think. They say a few things. I, I, I. Don't think I have too much more to say on, on the topic of January blues over then, I would also encourage you if possible, to try to put something on the horizon.

Maybe for the end of January, maybe the start of February. That you will look forward to something that you can maybe when, when times get tough, try to think of something that you might. Be hopeful for looking forward to wherever that's I don't know, booking yourself. Stays somewhere. It would be lovely. These. These crazy times, or maybe it's treating yourself to some item of clothing. You've. You've wanted or didn't get for Christmas or maybe it's. Investing in some crypto wars.

I don't know, whatever the heck. Your, your interested in or excited about maybe make yourself a little promise. To, to reward yourself at the end of January. And I think knowing that you've got that reward coming. Can be a helpful way to pull you through the darkest times in this month and hopefully get you on. On on the, on the right track and, and feeling upbeat again in no time. So, yeah, hopefully that's helpful. And I, I really I think it's, it's been nice to do another episode.

It's been a long time since I did an episode of the show. And it is always an honor to be able to speak to, to you. Did listeners. If there are. If there was one request I would have for anyone listening, it would be that. I would love to hear more about what you want from me this year and from, from this podcast. I'm sure any of you tuning in. Uh, Our listing for one reason or another, it's always really helpful for me to hear those reasons.

So that I can keep making the show better and keep doing it and keep making it valuable. So if you did have any thoughts, if you did want to hear more on any topic, if you wanted me to dig deeper into anything, if you wanted me to open up about any topic. Please let me know. And I'll I'll consider it for a future episode. So yeah, I think that's all for me for the first episode of 2022. Thank you so much for listening and I'll catch you next time. Have a good start to the year!