On Evenings.
Many of us start our days off strong – well-intentioned and motivated, healthy and focused. Too many of us finish our days off weakly and unhealthily, with a lack of intention and discipline, and feeling overwhelmed and unnecessarily tired. Finishing the day in a slump often starts the next day in a similar way. We may find that we rise tired and lethargic, without a clear sense of what we would like the day ahead of us to hold.
The end of the day can be a quiet and calm space, a time to process the day’s events, set our intentions for the next day and embrace relaxation. We can choose enjoyment of our hobbies, quality time with loved ones, quiet time with our ourselves, or fun with friends/family. The exhausted couch-slump with a glass of alcohol in hand does not always work as well as we think it should to ‘park’ our days and have them end on the same positive note that they started. One of the best ways to improve our experience of this time of day is to work on the quality of our day itself, by degrees. Try to have less of the things that overwhelm you in your days – take on fewer large commitments, select the important ones to you, and focus on the way that you do them (well, which brings satisfaction). The more energy you bring to the end of your day, the less chance you have of feeling the need to escape from the difficult day you have had with unhealthy habits.
Start the day positively – with conscious movement and mindfulness, healthy eating and a plan for your day. During the day stick to your plan as much as possible and use your values to guide your choices. Choose to enjoy your day as it progresses; because for one of the days in your life to come, your evening will not arrive to be appreciated. Have a plan for your evenings too, and fill them with things that are both good for you and your family, and bring you joy. Time with loved ones, a shared meal, quiet reading, music, a rowdy game, in-depth conversations, music, an interesting documentary, a fun movie. Being intentional with the time together, or alone, is what lifts the quality of the experience. As a result of the evening you have designed; go to bed rested, grateful, content and energised with the thought of the day to come.
Benjamin Franklin said, "Happiness consists more in small conveniences or pleasures that occur every day, than in great pieces of good fortune that happen but seldom." Choose to include small pleasures at the end of your day that leave you feeling clear, calm and contented; and that peaceful feeling will carry over to the start of the next day too.
Photo by Viktor Talashuk on Unsplash.