Northern Lights: Do Not Buy into Blue Monday

Over the years, the third Monday in January has become known as Blue Monday because it is said to be the most depressing day of the year.

A combination of post-Christmas blues, cold dark days, the arrival of unpaid credit card bills (after overspending at Christmas), have contributed to the naming of this day.

It is said to have begun in 2005 as a PR campaign by a travel company and is not supported by scientific evidence. There is no evidence to show that one particular day of the year is more depressing than any other. Plus, different people can experience the blues at contrasting times of the year.

Some say that it was a great way for the travel company to sell more holidays. Afterall, escaping to sunnier shores for a week can seem extremely attractive at this time of year. Over the years it has become more commercialised as other companies follow suit, with some giving away freebies on Blue Monday when you download their app.

Each year many of us make new year’s resolutions and are full of good intentions, but within a few weeks, have given up on them. One such area where we see countless people making new year's resolutions is health and fitness. Following overindulgence during the festive period, gym memberships rocket in the first week of January. At this time of year, gyms across the country are bursting at the seams, only to see numbers dwindle by the following month.

With initiatives such as Dry January, Veganuary, Junk Free January, and more… lifestyle-based challenges that start in January seem to be growing each year. But what happens when January is over? How many people actually continue to carry on with these lifestyle changes? Do not get me wrong, I do think that these challenges are good and if they lead to creating sustainable good habits, which is even better.

A lack of willpower and losing motivation are often what send many of us off course from sticking to our new year’s resolutions, and many factors contribute to this. Unrealistic expectations can be a major factor. Something else that I often see is where someone has a dreadful day (in terms of sticking to their new year’s resolutions) and one bad day leads to another. Then the negative self-talk sets in and they tell themselves that they have messed up now so there is no point. Then before you know it, they are back to square one, and all the good work they have done goes out the window.

There can be a lot of pressure on us to be successful and achieve our aspirations, which is not always helped by the success stories we constantly see on social media. Whilst it is good to be inspired and encouraged by other people’s success stories, we do not know their journey to get there. Comparing yourself to them and putting yourself down in the process, will not encourage you to achieve what you want to achieve.

There will be days when we lack willpower or when the motivation is low, that is a fact of life. But how we respond and what we believe will determine whether we move forward or not. Henry Ford is well known for the phrase ‘Whether you think you can or can’t, you’re right’ and this also applies to willpower. If you believe that you do not have willpower, you won’t. For a more helpful approach, acknowledge that you have been distracted and have procrastinated, had one too many slices of cake, or whatever your thing may be. Then pick yourself back up and continue to move forward taking action towards what you want to achieve.

Remember, January the 1st is not the only day of the year that you can make resolutions or set goals, you can make resolutions and set goals on any day of the year. Do you regularly set new year’s resolutions on the 1st of January and give up on them by February? If so, perhaps it is time for you to create new habits and make the changes you want to make in a different way. You could try setting intrinsically motivating goals with clear actionable steps for what is needed to achieve them.

As for Blue Monday, if you are expecting the day to be full of the winter blues, that is exactly what it will be for you. Rather than getting caught up in the Blue Monday hype, when you wake up on Monday the 15th, reflect on the things that you are grateful for and why you are grateful for them. Regularly acknowledging and reflecting on the things that we are grateful for is beneficial to our overall sense of wellbeing, and there is scientific evidence to support this.