Congratulations, fellow traveller in this our United Plandom.

You've made it to instalment three of our winter musings on how to bolster your mental health and wellbeing, which also means the days are getting lighter and with some investment from Team MMAP, the mood will be following suit pretty soon.

This fortnight, I want to work on re-defining the connotations borrowing often has in modern parlance. 

Wants and Needs

We typically are minded to borrow something when our wants and needs compass is pointing firmly in the direction of something we don't currently have.

This might be a big-scale purchase like a house, or something to accessorise our home or lifestyle with.

There may well be some other emotions going on in there, like envying something you don't yet have, or resentment that you have to borrow, and then pay back, the funds to posses the thing you're after.

There's a saying "be careful what you wish for," which is a cautionary note about wanting something in haste. 

But we humans are also hard-wired to want a sense of momentum. Who wants to catch a cold standing around waiting to get warm, after all?

Maslow kindly gave us structure for understanding the difference between wants and needs: It's over to us, to layer on how to deal with the sometimes overwhelming self-applied pressure to attain the wants that come a little further up that pyramid. 

Better Borrowing

In true MMAP style, let us equip you with the shelter and nourishment you need to borrow smartly. Your enjoyment is our repayment plan.

Write down what the biggest relief in your life right now would be. Add one thing that would progress towards that goal and one person you know that is a little further towards that goal than you are.

Borrow some wisdom from them about how they got to that rung of the ladder.

Think of a neighbour, someone you see around, or a workmate that you seldon have a conversation with.

Set yourself a time and place to borrow something from them. It could be their opinion on something, tips on their sense of style, intel on how they got into their favourite hobby, a recommendation for a great local restaraunt.

Identify one of the key pressure points for you, at this time of year. Reflect on a time when you didn't feel like this. Borrow a 20 minute slot at some point this week to spend time thinking about the more positive period, and affirming to yourself that you are going to feel like that once more. Maybe even twice more.

Whether you borrow boldly, blithely or barely: providing you can quantify the value of what you value, your receipt will be manifold. 

Next fortnight, our mindful mental health will be drawing to a close as I muse On Something Blue.

Do get in touch with any aspect of this topic that you'd like me to include.

Happy Planning