When you are overburdened with negativity - always plan the next thing to look forward to
It is September again and that means for many of us the end of the holidays together with the soon end of summer. For many, this time can be very depressing therefore and negative. I was on holiday with my family in Mallorca and every time I go to the airport to go back into my often-stressful life at home with all the to dos already on my list, it is easy to get overwhelmed with negativity. What helps is to focus on positive things I know are coming up in the future such as my next trip or knowing I will come back soon to this beautiful place.
Very often, when we have to say goodbye to people or feel that something is ending, we get into negative moods and feel like times are depressing. Therefore, with summer ending soon, many of us feel a bit down. The question is, how can we avoid this in the first place to be faced with these negative feelings, and if we are, how can we overcome that phase?
Most if us know when we go into a spiral of negative thinking. We are however often not aware of those trigger points that lead us there in the first place. Once we are in the situation and space of negativity, very often we might not realize but others around us certainly do, as it is then not pleasant for them to spend time with us. We therefore must play with awareness here. We need to become aware what triggers our spiral of negative thinking to kick off in the first place and become aware of those trigger points. For example, I know I am likely to be anxious on the last day of my holidays. The reason for that is that I think about all the things I must do back at home, and it sits in front of me like a large mountain I cannot even motivate myself to start climbing onto. Therefore, it helps to be aware of this already on my last day and to almost force myself to enjoy the moment every time I think about this large monster of work at home.
Secondly, It helps to break down the burden of work at home into smaller steps to get less overwhelmed. Think about the first things you look forward to doing at home and take things step by step. You don’t have to do everything on the first day you are back, but take your time to settle back in. Breaking the mountain of tasks down into smaller pieces and just starting to work on it can already help reduce the spiral of negativity we see ourselves in.
Therefore, the end of the holiday season does not have to be a bad thing. We should look at things we have to look forward to still throughout the year and the next holidays we have planned. As for the things waiting for us at home, don’t get overburdened by them but take one step at a time. I discovered this really helps when you find yourself faced with a lot of things to do. So don’t be sad that the holidays are over, look to all the exciting things ahead still to come and already be happy and look forward to the time you will be back.
