Shaking the Blues

Scrolling through various social media sites today, I couldn't help but notice "Blue Monday" being referenced by numerous people.

Not knowing what this special day might be (it seems every day of the year has to be titled something or other) I turned to trusty Wikipedia to determine what was going on.

Apparently it's calculated to be the most depressing day of the year, due to various factors (time since Christmas, breaking New Years resolutions, winter gloom, etc.)

Well, that sounds like something to celebrate...

After my initial smirking at what seemed like yet another over-hyped internet fad, I started to think about what logic might be behind this claim.

While I don't necessarily think one day needs to be designated as the most depressing of all, I can see why this is something people are connecting to. Personally I've been struggling with a sense of lethargy as I look ahead to more bleak months of winter and the monotony of work. There are no immediate changes or events on the horizon to be energized about, and I have to turn to inner motivation to accomplish even the smallest tasks - inner motivation that frequently feels weak and illusive.

Seems like typical January behavior.

With the freezing temperatures, snow piles everywhere, short daylight hours, and let down after the holidays, it's easy to slip into unhealthy habits and slough off those goals set just two weeks ago.

After all, I wasn't really considering my energy levels when I made those lists - life happens, my cat wants to cuddle, and there are hours of tv shows calling my name. Clearly I should re-sort my priorities.

Wait! What!?

*alarms go off*

Methinks "priorities" is misplaced in the above sentence. Little by little, these thoughts will eat away at my year until suddenly 2018 will be gone and what will I have accomplished? With little else to claim my time and attention, NOW is when I need to motivate myself to read, to sew, to write silly blog posts that maybe two people will read, to exercise, to practice my music, to learn new things and make checks on my to-do list so I can go to sleep at night with a sense of accomplishment and purpose.

So here I am, writing a blog post that I'm starting to think isn't very cohesive, cooling down from a high-energy workout and about to pull out my guitar to practice until the neighbors get annoyed. It's getting late, but I'm a night owl and this is when I get the most done.

I may be feeling those winter blues, but I refuse to let them get me down and rob me of what could be the best year yet. The only thing standing in the way of accomplishing my goals is myself, and that's a battle I'm willing to fight.

"Without ambition one starts nothing. Without work one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson