It’s 11:30 am on Blue Monday, the day of the year when most people apparently feel at their lowest. Whilst the science behind the term is highly questionable, the factors that combine to make Blue Monday seem to have a real bearing on our mood. The weather is miserable, people have high debt levels after holiday excesses, there is a whole work week ahead of them and those New Year’s resolutions are a thing of the past. Blue Monday is a serious #FirstWorldProblem
Some of these elements are indeed beyond our control. We can’t make the sun shine on a rainy day and try as we might, we can’t turn today into a sunny Friday afternoon in July. We may not even be able to reduce our debt levels today… but we can change the way we relate to all these factors.
Happiness is a function of our thoughts. If we take time to appreciate those around us, our environment, everything that we have going for us and everything that is going right, then we may just find ourselves feeling different. Even on a ‘bad day’, there is actually so much to be thankful for. That's why the morning prayers begin with a series of blessings thanking God for the simple and obvious: Thank you, God, for giving me life. Thank you, God, I can see, that I can use my hands and feet, that I can think. Happiness comes from mastering the art of appreciating and consciously enjoying what we already have.
Of course we all have challenges, there may even be factors we can’t change, but our state of mind, our happiness will come from choosing what to focus on and take pleasure in.
And yes, that really is possible… even on #BlueMonday
Have a Happy Monday!
