The worst day of the year?

The third Monday in January is sometimes called Blue Monday and its hailed in the media as the most depressing day of the year.

The idea of a quantifiably worst day is largely based on pseudo-science and was started in 2005 as a marketing idea so I think it’s safe to say we can dismiss the validity of the claim that yesterday was “Blue Monday”.

That was the good news but what we can’t dismiss quite so easily is that many of us do find the middle of January a tough time.

Why?

Well for a start the holidays are well and truly over and there is usually a large gap until the next ones.

Most of us have spent far too much money in December and it’s still two weeks until pay day and the credit card bill is screaming at us.

If you had any new year resolutions, there is a 95% chance you’ve already broken them.

In the Northern Hemisphere, we are in the depths of winter with cold short days and little daylight. What we want to do is curl up indoors in the warmth with loved ones but instead we must trudge to work and face the world when we least feel like it.

This lack of daylight plays havoc with our brains and Vitamin D3 levels which can cause us to feel down and depressed.

Trump: I really don’t need to say much about this one.

Brexit, like it or loathe it, it’s going to happen and we will know more soon. At the very least it means change and change is seldom without trauma of some form.

Global slowdown, most of us are in one or are aware that there is a huge slowdown globally is some areas. It’s not 2008 yet but things are tougher than we are comfortable with.

What can we do?

The first thing we can all do is recognise that as humans we naturally feel a bit down in the winter and not beat ourselves up over any lack of positivity. It’s hard enough as it is without re enforcing the negativity ourselves.

Second is don’t beat yourself up over those broken new year resolutions.

At some point, we decided to arbitrarily declare new year the time to dictate change and numerous studies show we almost all fail in these resolutions. What a terrible way to start the year and the main reason I no longer make these resolutions for new year.

I like to start a new year with some positivity not with a reminder that I have failed to exercise as much as I should. I know that and don’t need to be made to feel any worse about it just because its January!

World affairs and politics, well the chances are there isn’t much we can do right now so try to control your personal level of stress or concern. It isn’t election or referendum season, new terms, years, meetings etc. are all now happening for the new year ahead and it’ll be a while before any of us in any country know in what direction the world will head in 2017. So, for now try to remain stoic about it all and see what emerges over the coming months.

The biggest thing we can do is to try control our own stress levels, health and fears. Forget new year resolutions, an arbitrary date of January 1st is now well and truly proven to be a terrible day to resolve anything on.

Resolve to eat a bit less rubbish and to eat bit more healthily. I have personally lost nearly 40 kg (I was huge) over the last few years mostly by not freaking out about my diet but by always being a bit aware and a bit more careful. Was it the most effective or fastest way? No but its worked and it hasn’t caused me any stress.

Stress, well ultimately its created internally. Some of us never feel it, some of us are hospitalised by it.

All I can suggest is you try to manage it as best as you can. There are plenty of resources available out there and a huge amount for free and online. My personal biggest tip is to worry less about things you have no control over and to tackle the things you do. Not in a panicked and stressful way but in a determined problem solving way. Mentally the act of taking action and control and being proactive is always a good thing and if you can successfully resolve the issue then all the better.

If the stress or mental pressure is too much or if you are feeling down, then go and speak to someone. Too many of us fear or are embarrassed about mental illness or problems when there really is no need to feel ashamed or in any way embarrassed. The numbers show us this is a huge issue in the modern world and not at all uncommon.

So, go and speak to your doctor. It may be as simple as you need more light or it may be a bit more complicated, either way just go find out.

It’s not a sign of weakness to ask for help, quite the contrary it’s a sign of strength and the sensible choice.

Take a vitamin d3 supplement. I’m not a doctor but pretty much every doctor I do know now recommends monitoring your vitamin d levels. Don’t take my word for it, go look it up and speak to your own doctor.

Money worries? A huge issue for most of us.

Earn more and spend less.

It really is that simple. Don't get me wrong this in no way means that it’s easy to do, just that it’s simple.

I’ll try to cover various ways to seek a promotion, pay rise, negotiate hours or seek out and apply for new jobs in the next few weeks but for now the easiest way to improve your financial situation and for some of us our mental situation is to get a new job and thus by default a new cv or resume.

I and many others can help with that so get in touch and ask.

Start with looking at your resume or CV.

Is it up to date? Is it succinct? Does it list your job responsibilities or what you actually achieved?

We don’t always hire based on whether somebody turned up every day to complete a list of pre-set tasks, we hire ideally because they will do more than that. Because they will solve problems, make more money, save money and so on, so don’t just list the role responsibilities you fulfilled, list achievements.

For some that may be saving millions or selling millions.

For others that may be handling awful customers daily without losing their smile and having worked in retail I know that that one is a lot harder to achieve than most think.

There is lots of little things that we can all do to make January a bit easier and I shall end my rambling post now with a promise to write some definitive guides in regards to jobs and resumes and to share some actionable information you can use to help yourself.

Thanks for reading

Chris

https://www.peopleperhour.com/freelancer/christopher/cv-and-resume-writer/459613