How to thrive through this coming Covid winter 

Based on a podcast by Big Juicy Creative 

When it comes to winter-wellbeing, especially during a global pandemic with restrictions on all our lives, mindset is key; read on for tips to cultivate a big juicy attitude to the colder, darker months ahead.

Loch Morlich in the Cairngorms National Park, frequantly visited by Suzy 

I’ve heard a lot of people talk about how much they are dreading this winter. The cold. The dark. The uncertainty over seeing friends and family. The lack of festive parties.

I get it. I really do. I feel that pain too. But, while it’s so tempting to open a sentence with a moan about the weather, or the temperature, it’s totally unhelpful to your mindset… and your mindset is going to determine whether you thrive – or nose dive – this winter.

Hands up, confession time: I was one of those ‘Gloomy Glendas’ despairing about winter. Until, that is, a good friend politely suggested to me that maybe I should stop moaning and actually practice what I preach on my Big Juicy Creative podcast, which is all about nurturing your creativity to thrive (this link is to Apple Podcasts, but it’s available on loads of other platforms as well, such as Spotify and Google). 

Ahem. So I did. I created a mini-podcast (around 15 minutes) series all about How to Thrive Through This Covid Winter, creatively reframing winter so we look forward to it. 

I live in the awesome Cairngorms National Park, in the Scottish Highlands. It’s full to bursting with inspirational people who love winter and know how to thrive through it.

So I’ve interviewed a raft of them with expertise in a range of areas: parenting, adventure, photography, exercise, whisky, psychology, hypnotherapy, astronomy. All of them are full of practical tips and you can hear my introduction to the series and summary of what I’ve learned on this episode here.

To summarise, here are a few top tips on thriving through this winter:

• Obvious, but often the cause of winter misery: wrap up warm. Don’t underestimate the power of a neck warmer. Invest in a good woolly hat which you love wearing           

• The darkness makes everything more of an adventure; make an effort to see it that way. Walk in the dark, spot stars in the dark, even wild swim in the dark! (I’m a big fan of this last one)

• Winter is the perfect chance to be a brave explorer of the world…. both your external physical one, and your internal one 

• Winter gives us a chance to go within and focus on what really matters (especially as there’s no Christmas parties to distract us this year)

• It’s a great time to cosy up and get hygge-y with a loved one by the fire, with a whisky, perhaps?

• Winter is a perfect playground and ideal time for kids and adults alike to push their boundaries and experiment with taking risks, from sledging too fast to climbing trees to jumping in puddles 

It’s important to keep reminding yourself of how good you will feel after you get out and do some exercise, or do something in the outdoors. Yes, winter is hard but we can do hard things, and this builds our confidence and resilience.

With thanks to our guest author, Suzy Bashford, freelance journalist