Hello. Are you prone to procrastination? I am at times, and it can be debilitating, taking my mind away from living one day, right down even, to one moment at a time. Instead, my mind may go around in circles, with a continuous background narrative of ‘having to do something which feels timely’ and yet I can’t get my act together. It can be difficult to be in the right mindset for the best focus to apply myself wholeheartedly to what is most important to be done or achieved.
Why do we do it, have this resistance? There can be many reasons why. I will bet you that some can be from feelings of low self-worth and a general lack of inspiration. A common theme is not wanting to start because we think that the result has to be perfect. This may equate to needing to be in the right frame of mind or being totally prepared, in order to give it our best shot.
I was like that in writing this article. I had written down something which felt like it would be a worthwhile topic to share with you and blow me down, could not find it. I have been tuning in waiting to receive an inspiration, like a bolt of lightning. Nothing came until today when two words, ‘summertime blues’, popped into my head. I Googled them, feeling curious and was moderately surprised to find out it is a thing! All this time, I had not stopped to ponder, and I will share the essence of it with you.
Summertime blues can be similar to the SADs, that winter condition which many people fall victim to, where days are shorter, with little sunlight, which our body thrives upon. People become depressed, flat and find it difficult to feel joy in their lives.
“The summer blues, also known as the summertime blues, are feelings of sadness and depression that usually occur during the last week of summer, especially when you realise you have failed to meet some goals you set for yourself during the summer.” – The Center for Connection, Healing, and Change, in Virginia, U.S.A.
In my view as we live in Australia, where it does get very hot for often long periods of time, summertime blues relates to existing feeling depressed, due to excessive hot days and nights. Over time we become exhausted when we are unable to sleep, which puts our bodies under extra stress, which never feels fully rested. We tend to put things off and our motivation is low, achieving less towards the end of summer, holding out for more comfortable weather. I feel most of us can relate to that, the summertime heat, humidity, discomfort, lack of sleep, increased anxiety, which seems endless. And to top it off, we may live in fear because of it being bushfire season.
The general way summertime blues is referred to regarding experiencing depression, which can be overwhelming, is when you come to the end of summer and realise how much you have lost or frittered away your time, without achieving what you had planned. Although you may actually have achieved quite a lot in hindsight; your list was unrealistic and in fact you did very well. This can happen when we are too hard on ourselves, judgmental to a fault, rather than being our best friend, supporter and coach.
Who amongst us can even remember back to those water restriction days, when people gave up on their gardens, developed ‘bucket back’ from saving buckets of water from inside, such as when running the shower, waiting for the hot water to come through and then carrying them outside to put on plants. Many of us would carry 10 litres buckets to various places in the garden and develop crook backs. It was very common.
In Australia, we also deal with the Christmas madness being in summer, which serves to compound the various stresses in our lives. For many of us we may have lost a loved one this year, or fairly recently. This can be a very sad and grief filled time, which may be difficult to heal from. We all need help and to be supported by family and friends, not forgetting professional help.
This seems like I am sharing bad and gloomy themes with you, for which I wholeheartedly apologise. Life is as it is and no matter what, we serve ourselves best if we can get on with it and believe in ourselves. We can be our best friend and there is always time to learn, evolve, continue on the battle, be courageous and speculate how we can live a better life, for example more interaction and pleasurable activities.
There are many free or minimal cost community support groups; neighbourhood houses providing low cost activities and friendship groups. This can bring a sense of belonging and purpose to people who participate.
Also, we are classified as animals. And as such, we also need to belong in a group, tribe, community, whatever, seeking and relating with other likeminded animals. This could be one reason why we feel so comfortable with our pets, most commonly cats, dogs and birds, and other smatterings like rabbits, guinea pigs, frogs, reptiles etc.
It is unwise to carry on with negative self-talk wherein you judge yourself if you feel dependant on something, someone, a pet, activity or anything. I often mention neuroplasticity to you, how our brains are wired to benefit and truly need the stimulations that everyday life can offer us, which has an overall, positive affect upon our whole body system. Humans are meant to have experiences, to feel joy and purpose and it is very positive to do so.
If we feel that our best times are behind us, that may stop us from feeling purposeful on a daily basis. Time for some tough love from me and you may wish to give it to yourself. If you are flatlined in your life, ask for some inspiration and look for your own answers. You will be led to enquire here or there, to join with other people in an activity, hobby or group and learn something new.
We welcome you to the laughter club, which has been transformative in many people’s lives. People come and go and what we do helps ones to remember about the importance of having fun, deep breathing and laughing regularly.
I invite you to ponder on what type of things you may enjoy being involved in. You may like to contact your local council for advice about community groups and local libraries have incredible opportunities with free activities and talks. I have tried a lot of things in my life, one being various art expressions. Alternatively, you may be perfectly happy to keep doing what you do, freshening up your attitude a bit, improving your involvement, growing, still learning. We do need stimulation in our lives.
Words may be inadequate to bring forth to you a positive impact, which may encourage you to find or do something which will make your heart sing. This is in reference to becoming involved in an activity which will help you to relax, to focus, spending whatever time you have available’ in it, whilst interacting with others.
Returning to the subject of procrastination, is there something that jumps out for you to attend to? Or even the prompt to actively apply yourself to your ‘to do’ list in a way that produces satisfaction?
A new list could be understanding there are ways to deal with those feelings of sadness or the blues. Getting back to basics, you can ground some new beliefs which will benefit both yourself and those around you. Your to do list could include bringing yourself from feeling isolated and reach out to others in however you need it to be. You may benefit from receiving the professional support of a psychologist, social worker, counsellor or develop other social connections which may be like going to yoga or an exercise class. Ask and you will receive ideas and come to realise your own answers.
Exercise more, incorporate it to fit with your lifestyle and it will most likely help you to sleep better, which is so important. Exercise can be simple too, chair exercises, walking, yoga. You can learn something new and can do that in the comfort of your own home online, if you are comfortable with that.
It is in your hands to make a difference to your life and find joy again. You have the power to bring back the joy if it has been absent in your life. Wake up and affirm out loudly “I choose JOY”.
Give yourself a lift and a break from what was normal and everyday things, unless it feels like the best thing for you right now. Prepare yourself for summer and Christmas and keep on growing, keep on keeping on and never ever, give up. Never ever!
Laughter Club is on 8th & 22nd December, with a picnic after at Wicks Reserve. We will be at two libraries in January and take the month off meeting behind the Ferntree Gully for the first time, returning on the 2nd Sunday in February.
Thank you to Barbara Oehring for being such a brilliant photographer and sharing this beautiful photo of John and myself. We appreciate you!
We laugh together as follows and YOU are most welcome to come along.
Ferntree Gully Laughter Club 11am 2nd & 4th Sunday
Boronia Library 11am on the 1st Saturday of each month
Knox Library 2pm on the 3rd Thursday of the month – note this discontinues in 2025.
Ferntree Gully Library 2pm on the 4th Tuesday of the month
First timers, please contact me in case of a meeting change. You may even like to add yourself to the email reminder for the laughter club or sign up for my occasional newsletter. A reminder as well, I can also support people, as I’m qualified as a counsellor and life coach.
Wishing you joy this summer and for a harmonious and love-filled Christmas season. Speak with you again soon.
Lots of Love and Laughter. Lynette Mitchell.
Phone: 0425 799 258
Email: lynette@laughterforliving.com.au