The title Mind Blossoming came to me right now as a way to describe what happens when we get rid of the old, the outdated thoughts gathering dust in our heads.

It starts when we assess what’s holding us back and have the courage to confront what we need to do to move ahead.

Winter is a time to hibernate so it’s perfect to stay inside and get clear with yourself about the goals you have that you can start in the spring.

Spring, to me, is the ideal time to start something new. Winter is the ideal time to discard what a person no longer needs in their life.

As soon as you clear out your head you’ll be tempted to fill it up again with thoughts. How can each of us be able to live without obsessing over things?

It comes down to self-acceptance. For a lot of us, we’re used to beating ourselves up over our imagined faults and shortcomings. Winter is three months and three months is too long to continue in this dark vein of negativity.

I recommend in my book Flourish keeping a Feelings/Facts log. Write down each feeling you have about something going on in your life. On the next line, write down a fact to counter what you feel.

Feelings are real and true yet sometimes they cloud over a different truth. Title the first line feeling: and title the next line Fact: and go down the page line-by-line.

At the end, it should be easier to think more clearly about the possibilities of your life not the perils of what you feel is going on.

I’d like to hear from readers if you try this exercise and whether it works out.

Next week I will return with a guest blogger. A best friend of mine, Myung, has graciously allowed me to publish here a couple of essays he wrote for talks he gave to peers.