Spring has sprung – time for a personal spring clean?

After a couple of chilly false starts, and with the Easter holidays on the horizon, it finally looks like spring is really here.

Whilst the daffodils and crocuses might have made an early appearance, it can take longer for us humans to get into the optimistic mindset of spring. The long, dark and cold early months of the year can seem endless, and for many of there is an undeniable link between the seasons and our moods (read our earlier blog on Seasonal Affective Disorder here).

But at last the longer days and increasing temperatures can help lighten our moods and maybe help motivate us to make some changes in our lives. Whether that’s a traditional spring clean of the house, or a more metaphorical spring clean of our lives, there’s nothing wrong with taking advantage of spring’s optimism.

CCBT’s Director, our own Avy Joseph suggests that spring is the ideal time for self-reflection, helping to deal with your past and to focus on the future. It seems many of us get stuck in a feeling of unhappiness, especially through the winter months. Avy explains “You have to challenge those feelings by working out what is holding you back (such as feeling a failure after a divorce, or realising your job is not as rewarding as it once was) and then accepting it without judging yourself. Understand that whatever happened is an event fixed in time and that life, like the seasons, moves on. Accept yourself as a valuable person who has imperfections.”

Dealing with the bad or unhelpful things that have gone before and addressing them helps cleanse our minds, ready for whatever the spring and summer months have in store for us, a new start if you will.

Freshen up your goals

It’s natural for our lives to acquire unhelpful habits, either in actions or beliefs, so taking the time to cast an objective eye over the general state of our lives then getting out the ‘feather duster of change’ from time to time keeps us mentally and emotionally fresh and helps keep our lives on track, whatever our goals may be.

We’ve written about setting realistic and personally valuable goals here, and now is the ideal time to revisit yours. Whether it’s getting back into a healthier lifestyle, reinvigorating your social life or dusting off your CV and achieving new professional heights, throw open the windows and let the warm breeze of change in!

And if you are looking to grow professionally, don’t forget we can take you from novice to fully accredited Cognitive Behavioural Therapist with our specially designed courses in REBT (Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy). Learn all about our CBT training here.

A spring clean of your life could make a massive difference to someone else’s too!