Do the darker, colder days of winter seem to zap your energy?

Is it harder to stay motivated?

Is it harder to keep yourself from drifting into cold and dark places in your mind?

When you’re sitting in the dark do you find yourself asking, what did I do wrong? Why are these difficult things happening to me? When will things get easier?

Whatever the challenge, or even despair is, I promise you, asking questions that start with “Why?” and “When?” rarely help.

In fact, they will lead you into a long tunnel of self-judgment and blame. They are dis-empowering questions.

Try this instead, first, turn the lights on! Literally and figuratively. Anything that will add more literal light and will lighten your mood. Grab your cat or put on uplifting music. Whatever it takes.

Then, start by making a list of 10 things you are grateful for, including things about yourself. Things you’ve done, awesome decisions you’ve made, lovely relationships you have, the things in your life you love and appreciate. Make a list of 20 or 30 if you want. Once you get started on your list, your “Why” and “When” questions may disappear into the ethers by themselves. If they do, don’t call them back! Let them go!

Once your surroundings and mood are lighter and your gratitude list long, ask yourself, “How could this be for my ultimate benefit?” or my favorite, “What is seeking to emerge?” Those are empowering questions.

We can look back on the most horrific things and see how they benefited us, how they shaped the spectacular people we are today. No need to wait for hindsight. Brainstorm. How can you benefit from what’s going on? Or, who is it helping you become? I can tell you, it’s helping you become the next highest expression of yourself!

You are brilliant and glorious. There’s no one like you! Nothing is wrong with you. Everyone has shit happen. Everyone makes shit decisions from time to time.

The universe has a beautiful way of turning all into gold for our future self.