Happy you happy year: reasons to be cheerful everyday
Posted on January 21 2019
The 21st of January is a day that has become known as Blue Monday… If you don’t know what that is then you’re lucky in many ways as Blue Monday is a bit of a weird one if you ask me.
The third Monday of January has been nicknamed Blue Monday since 2005 as supposedly it’s the most depressing day of the year.
Following the Christmas buzz everyone feels bloated, tired, the nights are still dark and money is tight after an expensive December. Now the festive cheer is over, people are burrowing down to try to save money whilst giving themselves a hard time for eating the Christmas leftovers… and probably failing at their resolutions already.
I do think that talking about mental health and depression is a very good thing and we should be doing more of it throughout the year, not just on Blue Monday. On the other hand, it feels slightly odd that we would want to dwell on how bad we are feeling as that seems to me like a slightly counterproductive way of helping ourselves feel better.
Happy You Happy Year
We’ve all got a friend or family member who tends to look at the negative side of life. Whilst there can be a time and a place for this, shifting our thinking so that we focus on the positives can have a massively uplifting effect on our mood and well-being.
In 2019, I want to spend more times thinking about the things that make me happy and less about the things that frustrate or upset me (because I know there will be both in the course of a year!)
A reason to be cheerful every day
You may have heard people talking about gratitude practice before but not really known what it was.
It may seem like one thing too many to squeeze into our already busy days, but it’s a really wonderful habit to develop that literally takes seconds.
What is your reason to be cheerful todayl? Grab that pencil and your planner or notepad and just jot it down… Or, if that’s too much, you can just think about the things that made you happy as you walk to work or drive to the shops. Whenever you get the chance, remember those good moments that left you feeling warm and fuzzy instead of the things that annoyed you or made you feel bad.
Find your happy
So what kinds of things am I talking about? They don’t have to be huge, like landing a promotion at work or winning the lottery (as let’s face it, these things are not likely to happen to us that regularly)!
I’m talking super simple things like:
- Finding a seat on your usually packed train journey to work
- A text message from a friend or a lovely phone call with someone
- Cuddles with your pet/kids/partner/mum
- Coming home from work to find your partner has already made dinner
- Washing AND drying your hair before bed (and bonus clean pjs!)
All these things are small but can bring a lot of joy into our lives. What has made you smile today?
A lot can happen in a year
One the front cover of the 1 Year Planners you’ll notice the saying “a lot can happen in a year”. This is because I truly believe that it does!
Whether it’s something you have carefully planned for and looked forward to for months, or an event that crops up out the blue - our lives are never boring. I recently wrote a blog post on how I am planning to approach my goal setting this year and make habits that actually stick. My motto is little and often.
Each month, you’ll see that Fox & Moon planners for 2019 encourage you to set a goal for Home, Family, Finances, Health and Work. Breaking down huge 12 month goals into 12 smaller steps is a more realistic way of achieving the things you want to do - plus, it gives us the chance to change our mind.
Which is totally ok if you ask me!
Do you make time for gratitude practice during your day? I’d love to know what you do and get some tips so share your thoughts with me in the comments!
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