It is no surprise that when winter or cold comes around the temperature isn't the only thing that can feel a little down. 

Many people in the world and especially in Canada battle seasonal depression, it seems when the sun goes down less and less and we are confined to the closed quarters of our workspace and home our moods and level of motivation can dwindle into a negative. 

I am one of those people, during the summer I am gun ho for activity and nothing seems to dampen my day, however, once the winter months come around I tend to lose a lot of motivation and struggle to keep in a positive mindset. It may be the cold temperatures, it may be the lack of physical activity or it could be the lack of living nature that surrounds my everyday life. Over the years, however, I have managed to come up with some tactics that get me through the tough months and hopefully can get you through them as well. 

Stay Active: Many people picture the idea of staying active as hitting the gym and lifting weights or running on a treadmill but let's be honest for the majority of us think that is neither fun or extremely stimulating. I find that when the winter months come around it is extremely important to be doing activities that challenge your body and mind. Last winter, for instance, I picked up kickboxing and even began playing badminton or swimming regularly. These types of activities not only benefit your mental and physical world but if you're in a relationship can also give you and your partner something to do together instead of binge watching series after series on Netflix. 

Light: It sounds simple, but without vitamin D or even natural sunlight our world seems a little dark, during the winter day hours its important to have every window open in your home to absorb as much natural light as possible, it may even help to have lighter paint or furniture in the home to make it seem more happy and natural. I also personally found that those expensive pink Himalayan salt lamps that many may argue are a hippy, naturalist and fake things actually tend to help me (maybe it's a placebo effect).

Get Outside: Getting outside doesn't necessarily mean strapping on the skates and the hundred pounds of winter gear to go for a walk to the outdoor rink. Sometimes simply getting in your car and exploring the city or just going for a cruise can have profound effects on your everyday mentality. I started thrift shopping through the winter months just to give me an excuse to get outside.

Keep Your Mind Busy: Again, this sounds like such a simple idea, however, I noticed half of the battle with seasonal depression or just seasonal down is that there is a lack of activities to do and let's are honest sometimes we can't afford to go out and have fun every day. Try picking up a book and reading or challenging yourself with puzzles and board games or if you want to feel a little entrepreneurial try and generate ideas for additional ways you can generate revenue. Starting any type of project whether its a business or a hobby will keep you too preoccupied to notice we only have 6 hours of sun. 

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