How to beat overwhelm

How to beat overwhelm at this time of year. It can feel really overwhelming with the weight loss and holiday adverts and with all of the news stories reminding us that there is so much we need to do globally. It can all seem like an impossibility for one person to take on.

With all of this in mind, I sat down and thought about how to keep the overwhelm at bay and also to try to do more at the same time. The best advice I can offer at the start of a new year, is to slow it all down, take it right back to the simple things and to focus on yourself. Remember it’s okay to take small steps, especially if these then become things that you can consistently do. I was able to get away for a couple of days and found myself back at my favourite place, The Gower.

I find reconnecting with nature such a great way to get clarity of thought and to clear my mind. Something as simple as walking can really help reset your mind and allow you to really focus on yourself. It’s one of the ways we can help to nurture our minds and can answer that question of how to beat overwhelm.

It is also great exercise, without the need for a gym membership or expensive, energy eating equipment! It got me thinking about all the places local to me that I could be using for walks and in turn, supporting tree planting, and conservation.

I’ve pledged that I’ll put my health first this year and so I plan to get out walking more and taking my excitable beagle to different places.

The National Trust, local wildlife centres and arboretums are all great places to go to support these types of conservation and environmental projects and to help protect our environment for the future.

As a business we support Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust so that we can contribute to these long term conservation projects and support our local wildlife. Doing something like this really helps with that feeling of lack of control over bigger global events, and can be a great way to contribute positively to our planet. Using your local parks and walks too are a free and easy way to get out there more and to enjoy some fresh air!

If you’ve got younger children there are lots of ways to make walks interesting, you could use a book, collect things, play games, take spotter sheets, maybe do some bug hunting, there are also lots of free resources available on the internet too. I don’t know about you but I do find the dark days a challenge to motivating myself in getting outside, so I’ve linked up with a friend to make sure that we do get out there and get some walking done. An accountability buddy can be a great way to keep yourself active if you’re fonder of the summer sun than the winter!