January has a rap as the most depressing month of the year. It comes straight after December after all and that’s a hard act to follow. December is a month of glitter and pizzazz, food and drink, parties and presents, new clothes, Christmas hair and people, people, people. Come January 2nd, we’re all feeling partied out, our sparkle has fizzled out, our bank accounts are empty, the weather in the northern hemisphere is cold and miserable, and we’re feeling fat and frumpy. It’s therefore no surprise to learn that the day marked as the most miserable day of the entire year has been pronounced as the third Monday in January.
In 2018 Blue Monday, as it is known, is set to fall tomorrow on 15th January. Prepare to be dejected and downcast. Abandon hope, take to your bed, and pull the quilt up to your chin. All is lost.
But wait!
Let’s take a closer look at January and readjust our thinking, shall we?
If you take a closer look at how Blue Monday came about you will find that it is a load of old bunkum. The notion of the most depressing day of the year originated in a press release in 2005, by a holiday company called Sky Travel. They claimed to have calculated the date using an equation that basically factored in:
The press release claimed to have academic backing, but this has mostly been rejected in the intervening years, with the formula used described as nonsensical, and the whole thing pronounced ‘pseudoscience’ of the worst kind.
So that, really is all you need to know to dismiss the notion of the most miserable day of the year from your mind. Let’s look at how we can turn Blue Monday into Brilliant Monday.
If you’ve made your resolutions and broken them already, so what? The year is still brand spanking new! You still have an amazing 350 days in which to put all your plans into action and make a real difference to your world, or somebody else’s. There is no way you can give up, just 15 days into 2018. Pick yourself up, dust yourself down, you’ve got this!
In January when the world is so bare and stark, you see the earth so very differently. I challenge you this 15th January to take a walk and really look at the difference. See the animals that are still hanging around, and foraging for food? See the trees and bushes, shed clean of their foliage and biding their time before they burst into bloom once more? Often in January, we have bright blue skies, sharp white clouds, deep frosts, or flurries of snow. For many of us, that’s different and therefore exciting. Go for walks, take photos, play outside, paint landscapes. Mark the difference in the season!
Another reason to love January is its very cosiness. A few weeks ago you probably received presents from your nearest and dearest. Have you put them away? Saved them for later, or for best? Now is the best time. Get them out and indulge yourself in the socks and scarves, the toiletries and the wine. This 15th January, turn Blue Monday into Brilliant Monday by donning your cosiest warmest pyjamas, wrapping yourself in a snuggly blanket, and putting your feet up after work. Light a fire, watch a film, eat the chocolates, read a book, listen to your new music. Yes, it’s cold outside, but there’s no excuse for making yourself miserable when you are surrounded by indulgent things.
I often think that people are miserable in January because they are missing the excitement of December. I can never understand that. December is stressful – it’s all rush, rush, rush. Party here, family gathering there. There are deadlines to hit at work before the end of the year. There is rich food and too much sugar. There is a sense of expectancy followed by disappointment. There is a desire to constantly outdo the previous year. This can be soul-destroying.
So this Blue Monday, take the time to enjoy the calm and the peace and quiet. If you like to be alone, be alone. Enjoy the lack of expectation, and if it your desire, book the day off work and do precisely nothing. Because on Brilliant Monday, what you want, goes!
If nothing else, rejoice that next Christmas is a long way, away!
The shortest day, the winter solstice occurs on the 21st December. By the 15th January, there will be incremental increases in daylight every day. Summer is on its way.
Now that the festive season is behind us, we actually have time to do the crafty or arty things we’ve always wanted to. You can start small and just have a dabble. No-one needs to see what you do, it’s yours and yours alone. This Blue Monday, buy some cheap paints, dust off your sewing machine, open that word document, or load up that YouTube video on playing the trombone.
You can have a few weeks’ grace in order to plot the year, but you should use Brilliant Monday to really get going on a new narrative for the year. Imagine you could do anything you wanted or be anything you wanted, or look any way you chose, what would you do? See how much of that you can achieve, month by month, starting from Blue Monday.
Good luck, and let us know how your Brilliant Monday turned out!
Created by Tom Vermeersch
Tom Vermeersch is a certified Psychologist and Bach flower expert with more than 30 years of experience.
10 Tips to get the best out of every day
When we’re stuck in a bit of a rut, the days and nights slip past so quickly that we barely notice them. But life is not a rehearsal!
Signs of depression under the radar
It is not always obvious when someone is experiencing depression. Some people with depression mask their symptoms, hiding their feelings behind a smile to convince others they are happy.
Can we learn from our mistakes and develop a stronger, healthier emotional bondwith our kids? To help you identify your weak spots, we’ve rounded up some of the most common mistakes parents make.
It's often difficult to say no, but some people never do! So how do you know when to say no and when to say yes?
Bad habits waste your energy and time. They disrupt your life, risk your health and stop you from achieving your aims. So why do we do them? And what can we do to break our bad habits?
Find out if you're suffering from imposter syndrome
Do you sometimes feel your achievements are not the result of your hard work and skill but are just luck? And do you fear that one day, someone will reveal you as an imposter or fraud? You might have imposter syndrome!
How can I help my child achieve their dreams?
Children's imaginations know no limits and their dreams are a mix of hopes and fantasies, the real and the magical, the impossible and the achievable.
What are your aims in life? Do you plan to be rich, to be a top footballer, to be a good parent, or to become Prime Minister? However efficiently you plan your life, sooner or later you are going to come up against obstacles to achieving your goals.
You see the word "toxic" everywhere these days, but what does it really mean? You've almost certainly come across someone who fits the description. Dealing with difficult personalities can be challenging and emotionally exhausting, to say the least.
How to stop everything going wrong
Do you always feel that everything’s always going wrong? Find out how to stop this cycle of bad thoughts in its tracks. When you think positively, things will start to appear positive and you will eventually feel more positive and optimistic.
January has a rap as the most depressing month of the year. It comes straight after December after all and that’s a hard act to follow. December is a month of glitter and pizzazz, food and drink, parties and presents, new clothes, Christmas hair and people, people, people. Come January 2nd, we’re all feeling partied out, our sparkle has fizzled out, our bank accounts are empty, the weather in the northern hemisphere is cold and miserable, and we’re feeling fat and frumpy. It’s therefore no surprise to learn that the day marked as the most miserable day of the entire year has been pronounced as the third Monday in January.
In 2018 Blue Monday, as it is known, is set to fall tomorrow on 15th January. Prepare to be dejected and downcast. Abandon hope, take to your bed, and pull the quilt up to your chin. All is lost.
But wait!
Let’s take a closer look at January and readjust our thinking, shall we?
If you take a closer look at how Blue Monday came about you will find that it is a load of old bunkum. The notion of the most depressing day of the year originated in a press release in 2005, by a holiday company called Sky Travel. They claimed to have calculated the date using an equation that basically factored in:
The press release claimed to have academic backing, but this has mostly been rejected in the intervening years, with the formula used described as nonsensical, and the whole thing pronounced ‘pseudoscience’ of the worst kind.
So that, really is all you need to know to dismiss the notion of the most miserable day of the year from your mind. Let’s look at how we can turn Blue Monday into Brilliant Monday.
If you’ve made your resolutions and broken them already, so what? The year is still brand spanking new! You still have an amazing 350 days in which to put all your plans into action and make a real difference to your world, or somebody else’s. There is no way you can give up, just 15 days into 2018. Pick yourself up, dust yourself down, you’ve got this!
In January when the world is so bare and stark, you see the earth so very differently. I challenge you this 15th January to take a walk and really look at the difference. See the animals that are still hanging around, and foraging for food? See the trees and bushes, shed clean of their foliage and biding their time before they burst into bloom once more? Often in January, we have bright blue skies, sharp white clouds, deep frosts, or flurries of snow. For many of us, that’s different and therefore exciting. Go for walks, take photos, play outside, paint landscapes. Mark the difference in the season!
Another reason to love January is its very cosiness. A few weeks ago you probably received presents from your nearest and dearest. Have you put them away? Saved them for later, or for best? Now is the best time. Get them out and indulge yourself in the socks and scarves, the toiletries and the wine. This 15th January, turn Blue Monday into Brilliant Monday by donning your cosiest warmest pyjamas, wrapping yourself in a snuggly blanket, and putting your feet up after work. Light a fire, watch a film, eat the chocolates, read a book, listen to your new music. Yes, it’s cold outside, but there’s no excuse for making yourself miserable when you are surrounded by indulgent things.
I often think that people are miserable in January because they are missing the excitement of December. I can never understand that. December is stressful – it’s all rush, rush, rush. Party here, family gathering there. There are deadlines to hit at work before the end of the year. There is rich food and too much sugar. There is a sense of expectancy followed by disappointment. There is a desire to constantly outdo the previous year. This can be soul-destroying.
So this Blue Monday, take the time to enjoy the calm and the peace and quiet. If you like to be alone, be alone. Enjoy the lack of expectation, and if it your desire, book the day off work and do precisely nothing. Because on Brilliant Monday, what you want, goes!
If nothing else, rejoice that next Christmas is a long way, away!
The shortest day, the winter solstice occurs on the 21st December. By the 15th January, there will be incremental increases in daylight every day. Summer is on its way.
Now that the festive season is behind us, we actually have time to do the crafty or arty things we’ve always wanted to. You can start small and just have a dabble. No-one needs to see what you do, it’s yours and yours alone. This Blue Monday, buy some cheap paints, dust off your sewing machine, open that word document, or load up that YouTube video on playing the trombone.
You can have a few weeks’ grace in order to plot the year, but you should use Brilliant Monday to really get going on a new narrative for the year. Imagine you could do anything you wanted or be anything you wanted, or look any way you chose, what would you do? See how much of that you can achieve, month by month, starting from Blue Monday.
Good luck, and let us know how your Brilliant Monday turned out!
When we’re stuck in a bit of a rut, the days and nights slip past so quickly that we barely notice them. But life is not a rehearsal!
It is not always obvious when someone is experiencing depression. Some people with depression mask their symptoms, hiding their feelings behind a smile to convince others they are happy.
Can we learn from our mistakes and develop a stronger, healthier emotional bondwith our kids? To help you identify your weak spots, we’ve rounded up some of the most common mistakes parents make.
It's often difficult to say no, but some people never do! So how do you know when to say no and when to say yes?
Bad habits waste your energy and time. They disrupt your life, risk your health and stop you from achieving your aims. So why do we do them? And what can we do to break our bad habits?
Do you sometimes feel your achievements are not the result of your hard work and skill but are just luck? And do you fear that one day, someone will reveal you as an imposter or fraud? You might have imposter syndrome!
Children's imaginations know no limits and their dreams are a mix of hopes and fantasies, the real and the magical, the impossible and the achievable.
What are your aims in life? Do you plan to be rich, to be a top footballer, to be a good parent, or to become Prime Minister? However efficiently you plan your life, sooner or later you are going to come up against obstacles to achieving your goals.
You see the word "toxic" everywhere these days, but what does it really mean? You've almost certainly come across someone who fits the description. Dealing with difficult personalities can be challenging and emotionally exhausting, to say the least.
Do you always feel that everything’s always going wrong? Find out how to stop this cycle of bad thoughts in its tracks. When you think positively, things will start to appear positive and you will eventually feel more positive and optimistic.
Bach Flowers are not medicinal but harmless plant extracts which are used to support health.
© 2024 Mariepure - Webdesign Publi4u
Are you unsure which Bach flowers can help you? Contact Tom for free advice.
