January is renowned for being a month of new beginnings, fresh starts and wiping the slate clean. A month of taking our desires and putting them to the forefront. It’s a month of let’s get on with this and make it a better, bigger, more successful, healthier than last year, year! For many people this bring joy but for alot of us, the secret bunch well, it brings such pressure for everyone and I fight against every year.
For me January is about rest and recuperation, its about gently tiptoeing into the New Year and its the time that everyone goes back to work and school and I finally get to rest !! Working with my clients is actually a rest 🙂 January is about being in alignment with nature and that means shorter days, quieter nights and restful naps. Fighting against this often leads to tiredness and mistakes. February comes along and we start to emerge, our ideas are popping into our heads and we feel the first urges of action for the rest of the year that we can start working on, gently, still respecting our winter cycle of rest and recuperation.
I want to point out that for many women and mothers, it is the opposite, January can be and is often a month of exhaustion. December has just finished, and most women have spent most of that month trying to organise the best Christmas for their family, running round like headless chickens to find the perfect presents and generally shopping and cooking most of the Christmas food. The house needs to sparkly, and Christmassy, even when the teenage children are not really that bothered about it and the younger children make the task longer (if not funnier).
Don’t get me wrong, its a pleasure and most women would not have it any other way, but it is extremely tiring. We underestimate how exhausting organising a Christmas actually is, combined with all the other tasks that don’t just miraculously disappear.
For women in Business, it’s a double whammy as not only do they spend December managing their business, finalising client expectations before the end of the year and then working on the new year objectives but also looking after their family’s needs during the festive season.
Which is why I’m smiling when I’m writing this as usually my January mantra is to tiptoe into the New Year simply because I am one of the women above. I roll into January, generally exhausted as although I may take the time off work, that time is used to organise Christmas. Despite what you organise is fabulous and you have a wonderful holiday, the exhaustion of the run up to Christmas for most women is huge. Add to that the general end of year tiredness that everyone has, and you are ready for a mini burnout at the beginning of a new year if you are not careful!
So why was I so surprised that in my first week of January, I came down with the flu? Well, I had forgotten my own rule of thumb. January is the wintertime, it’s time for sitting back, reflecting and being gentle with yourself. It’s the time to enjoy nature and work with the rhythm of the winter. It’s the time to be thankful for the past year and welcome in the new year, with NO expectations. Its time to remember we are not robots and that yes we will achieve our objectives but we need to let our minds and bodies rest in order to do that.
This year I made the mistake, because I had been away on holiday for 5 days, that I would be able to jump into my new year fully energised and ready to rock and roll. That is what I really felt and wanted. The motivation was there, my mind was full of ideas and energy. My body quickly told me something completely different, only I wasn’t listening to it, so it made me stop!
So do I have my new year all planned out personally and for business, no not completely but I know that January and February, if I go with the flow of nature, will bring me its usual lovely surprises and gifts that I will then pass on to you.
So, ladies (and gentlemen) do not fall into the New Year trap of speed, take January and February to gently get into the rhythm of 2023 and believe me your happiness and health levels will only be higher. Take this opportunity to life your best life in France.
