- Ali
January 18th is the day this fateful Monday falls on and is the name given to a day in January that is supposedly the saddest and most dismal day of the year due to a combination of post-festive bills, little sunlight, cold weather and the abandonment of New Year resolutions.
Despite it often being seen as a day of negativity, the day is, according to Dr Ian Taylor a psychologist from Loughborough University, said to have been originally coined to provoke a positive outlook and act as an opportunity for new beginnings and change.
So why not use Blue Monday as a time to reflect on resolutions or any goals you made making you much more likely to stick to them.
If you set new goals but have failed it’s ok, challenging goals are often not completed the first time. Most Olympic medals are not won by athletes at their first Olympics but at the second or third time of asking.
If your resolutions are going well, then great carry on. But if not, ask yourself why not.
What triggers old habits?
Old habits are often triggered by four things that can easily be changed: specific events, times, locations, or other people. You need to play around with these triggers and change them. Habits like brushing your teeth daily are natural so adding a new healthy habit to sit beside it, like drinking a glass of water, are easy to implement.
Equally, if you’re trying to eat healthy, for example, but 11am is cake time at work, or when the kids homeschooling demands a snack then you need to do something else at 11am to move away from the routine temptation. If you’re trying to cut down on alcohol but socialise with a group of zoom buddies every Friday night, then you need to find another Friday night event like a spa evening instead.
It’s important to make a real change to one or more of these triggers, otherwise, you’re just relying on willpower and that’s probably why you’ve struggled in the past.
Your willpower is an excellent tool to get you started on your goals, but reduces over time and evaporates into the ether, leaving in its absence… powerful temptation.
By resetting your goals and ambitions on Blue Monday, you are much more likely to stick to your goals because you’ve had a practice period in the first few weeks of January and you’ve learnt what works and what doesn’t.
Also, the chaos of the festive aftermath has disappeared, and you’ve settled into our present lockdown routine which makes it easier to make realistic changes.
There’s no law saying that resolutions, goals or lifestyle changes have to be made on the first of January. Make today the day you decide to change.
If you're struggling with health and wellbeing goals then why not book a free 30 min discovery call. I'll work with you to help you assess what's holding you back and create a plan to move you forward. Book a session now
