Moody Monday. Yellow is the new Blue

In some quarters today is referred to as Blue Monday when it is claimed many employees feel at their lowest and want to resign their jobs.

It doesn’t have to be that way with the right attitude.

Earlier this morning I was reading an article by Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis of the United Hebrew Congregations of the UK and Commonwealth. In it he talks of two Hebrew words with the same Hebrew letters ???? (pronounced o-neg) which means pleasure, and ??? (pronounced ne-ga) which means plague. The letter ? (called ah-yin) refers to our eyes. In oneg / pleasure the ayin is at the front of the word, whereas in nega / plague it is at the back. This tells us that our attitude all depends on how we view a situation – we can choose to view it positively – from the front, or negatively – from the back.

In other words, we can look at the glass being half-full or full-empty.

The late Stephen R. Covey wrote the best-selling book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. In Habit 1 – Be Proactive he refers to your response-ability – i.e. your ability to respond to a situation or the circumstance you are currently in. It is your responsibility to choose the right attitude to it.

Christopher Voss, former FBI negotiator says:

the brain works up to 31% better in a positive frame of mind. You’ll make yourself 31% smarter just being in a positive frame of mind. 

He goes on to say our brains contain mirror neurons. If you smile at someone then they mirror that behaviour and involuntarily smile back at you. This simple action generates a positive reaction and you both feel better.

So today, instead of feeling down and depressed, use your response-ability and choose to feel positive, happy and smile.

For a bit of corny fun let’s refer to this week as

• Magnificent Monday
• Terrific Tuesday
• Wonderful Wednesday
• Thunderous Thursday
• Fantastic Friday
• Sublime Saturday
• Sensuous Sunday

Respond accordingly and make bright Yellow the new blue.