The Winter Arc — THE EDGE

The month of October sits at an awkward point in time. Most of us are burnt out, as we’ve used the last bit of our stored energy from early September. We need a boost, but January's fresh, minty restart is still a few months away.

So, we give up. We let ourselves go. We indulge a little too much in Halloween sweets, eat one too many slices of pumpkin pie and scarf down most of Santa's cookies come December. We let our goals fall behind, our grades slip and we lose track of the big picture we so ideally wanted to paint, hung up and dry before the year is even over.

Here at The Edge, we believe in living a healthy lifestyle. Healthy isn't a one-size-fits-all term, though. Healthy means balance. Healthy means sitting down to enjoy a salad and grabbing a scoop of ice cream later that night. But, sometimes, we want to see how hard we can push our mental boundaries. We want to become idealized versions of ourselves, which is okay if we do it correctly.

So, if you're looking for a nudge in the right direction, say hello to The Winter Arc.

The Winter Arc starts around October 1st, but it’s okay if you start right now. The ultimate goal is to start as soon as possible. At this point in the Fall, there are about three months, which is about 90 days, until the end of the year. The October, November and December trio scream cozy sweaters and snuggly winter treats. With that said, a lot of people slow down at this time and push their goals towards January. “It can wait,” we tell ourselves. But how many times have you told yourself that before? We all fall into the trap that new beginnings can only come with a new year, school semester, job and so on. But that’s completely wrong. Change can start whenever you want it to.

The Winter Arc is a time to dial in, a time to not take your foot off the gas but to press down harder to gain some speed. Zero in on your goals and reframe your mindset to see where you would like to be come January 1st, 2025. Instead of using that January 1st date as a new beginning. Use it as one of your first finish lines for progress.

One common facet of the Winter Arc is “moving in silence.” In the age of social media, we all want to document everything, especially large changes in our lives that we are proud of. Instead of posting on your TikTok about your workouts or snapping photos of your healthy meals, choose to move in silence. It’s a challenge, yes, but it also allows for a mental break. You’re not expected to document all of your life and what you do. If you do want to track your progress, by all means, please do. But keep it private. When you notice some change, when a few months go by and you see what routine, good habits and discipline have done, then go ahead and click post. Share what got you to where you are. But we advise using these first few months of change as a period of silent reflection.

To round out this Winter Arc lesson, here is a little to-do list for those who do not know where to begin. Let’s do this!

Create a daily checklist where concrete expectations can be written and recorded.
Create a Pinterest mood board to keep you inspired and on track.
Get your steps in! Shoot for 10,000 a day :)
Discipline > Motivation. Discipline leads to change, so stay consistent.
Wake up early. It sucks, but do it.
Create or find a structured program and follow it. There are so many fitness coaches and creators who do this for work, so reach out!
Life Hack: Plug your fitness and macro goals into ChatGPT and the software will do all the hard thinking for you.

It’s getting colder, days are becoming shorter and we are all losing our glorious summer tans. Prop up your hood, put your head down and zero in. Nothing changes if nothing changes.