January in the northern hemisphere is a bit of a bleak affair.
The holiday festivities seem like a distant memory, our wallets may not have recovered from Christmas yet. The days are still very short and sunnier days seem a long way off.
Added to this new year’s resolutions are often broken within the first couple of weeks. No wonder the third Monday in January has been nicknamed Blue Monday because it is considered the most depressing day of the year.
A bout of mild depression can strike at any time of the year, but it is also easy to fall into the collective notion of Blue Monday.
Don’t let this be you.
However, if you feel the blues kicking in, decide right now to do something about it.
Our emotions are the best indicator to guide us when we are feeling out of sorts. The more we are able to tune into what our emotions are telling us, the quicker we can do something about it.
There is an internal dialogue that fuels all emotions. When you begin to recognise that you are just telling yourself a story, you can begin to retrain yourself to start telling a more empowering story instead.
Let me give you some examples:
“Why can’t I stick to my diet? I can’t believe I let myself eat that packet of cookies. I have no willpower and I’m so useless”
“I can’t believe another year has passed and I still stuck in the same job, I feel like life is passing me by”
“Uggh it’s another week to payday and I’m completely broke, I’m fed up with running out of money every month”
It is easy to fall into the spiral of telling yourself a disempowering story that leaves you feeling fed up.
I teach my clients to always mind their language – our words literally shape our reality.
Not only do we want to be mindful of the words we speak, we also need to be mindful of the thoughts we think, which is much harder.
The more we can tune in with our emotions, the easier this becomes to do.
Remember you are not your thoughts. You are not your story.
You are just the thinker of these thoughts and the narrator of your story.
Think better thoughts, tell a better story and the result is that you will feel better and your life will dramatically improve.
I call this the reframe.
Now before we go into the reframe – first you need to shift the blues.
When you are feeling down, it is difficult to motivate yourself and it is even harder to take action. So the first step is to neutralise the blues, because when we feel better, we can do better. One of the fastest ways to do this is with EFT – Emotional Freedom Technique.
Emotional Freedom Technique) A.K.A. tapping to do just that, to help you banish the January blues. Check out the tapping video here.
After this round of tapping, I hope you will have significantly shifted the blues.
From this place of feeling better, I now encourage you to ask yourself some powerful questions:
“What can I do to reach my health goals?” “What are the best foods I can choose that will support my goals”, “Who can I call upon who will keep me accountable?”– then take action by stocking up your fridge with healthy food, enlist that friend for support, or even better, join a support group.
“I can’t believe another year has passed by and I am still stuck in the same job?” Here I would highly recommend you accessing the replay of my event, Global Vision Board Day which took place on December 27th. For just £27, you will be taken through my step-by -step process get super clear on what you truly want and make your most epic vision board ever. Click here for more details.
When you get the clarity, you will also be motivated to take the first action steps in making major life changes.
Maybe you’ll be inspired to upgrade your skills, maybe you will start working towards a promotion, or maybe that idea for a business could be born?
If you start telling yourself that opportunities and possibilities are everywhere, soon you’ll start noticing them. The opposite is also true, tell yourself you’re stuck and you’ll remain stuck.
When you shift your focus from your problems, and your current reality and instead start thinking about what you what instead, your life will change.
Where your focus goes, energy flows – so keep your focus on what you want and the outcomes you desire, and not the negative stories in your head.
Other ways to banish the January blues include making some changes to your diet. My recent guest on Big Vision TV, Dale Pinnock, The Medicinal Chef recommends eating food with Omega 3 oils to boost your mood, turkey which is high in tryptophan, an amino acid which helps produce serotonin, the feel good chemical. Green vegetables which are rich in magnesium are also recommended.
Colour Therapy
Another way to boost your mood is some colour therapy, Marcia O’ Regan from Glow Your True colours says, “Colour is a great way to lift your spirits. For example the colour orange helps you stay positive and joyful. Yellow will help you stay focused” Marcia suggest wearing these colours, keeping orange and yellow crystals nearby or even eating foods these colours.
Finally, move your body. The way we move determines the way we feel, Tony Robbins says “emotion is created by motion”, so by moving your body, whether it is a brisk walk or a solo dance party to your favourite upbeat track – you will be guaranteed to alter your state and from this place you can take some positive action steps.
To banish the January Blues, here’s a quick recap on steps to feel happier fast:
- Tap along to my January Blues tapping video in this post, this will help neutralise the emotion
- Look at your words and your language, reframe with powerful questions
- Get clear on what you truly want and lasting changes you want to make, my Vision Board Course is a great place to start
- Look at adding some mood enhancing food to your diet
- Move your body
- Surround yourself with mood boosting colour
If your symptoms persist or worsen, please consult a medical professional immediately.
About Melanie Moore.
Melanie is a coach and host of Big Vision TV. She helps impact driven visionaries transcend their limiting beliefs, so that they can gain the clarity they need to fully commit to their vision and impact their world. Melanie is also the creator of the Tapping Into Your Big Vision membership community. Enrolment is currently closed, but you can join the waitlist here.
