Juggling January
As much as I love Christmas, I hate January. For me, January is the most difficult month of the year – oh hi January blues, long time no see…
Do you know that feeling? If not, then you can count yourself as lucky. January blues is a form of depression that some people feel after the magic of Christmas and holidays come to an end. Its secret ingredients: A lack of motivation, exhaustion, melancholy, and excess of melatonin.
Why are we feeling blue? There are many reasons why people can feel this way. To name a few examples: The long build-up of Christmas is over. The next holiday feels far away. Eating and drinking too much during the holidays turned you into a slug – hello Dry January! The festive mood is gone, but the winter remains. Days are still short and sunshine is rather rare (interesting fact here: During the dark winter, the body produces more Melatonin which makes you more tired).
I once read that you can compare January Blues with a New Year’s rocket: In the sky, it explodes with joy, only to land unnoticed on the ground again in the middle of nowhere. Quite accurate, don’t you think?
Another reason is that the end of the year is a time where many people look back and reflect. This can turn into a quite unsatisfying activity (and let’s be honest… 2020, what was that?!). We see missed opportunities and failed goals and resolutions. On top of that, many people had and still have to fight with loneliness, grief, and anxiety - I am sending my love to everyone who is going through this.
If you’re feeling down during the first month of the year, know that you are not the only one who feels this way. Phases of feeling blue are ok and regretting what hasn’t been achieved is ok too. Keep the focus on learning from your experience and focus on what you can control.
Here at Sysdoc, we decided to join forces to battle the January blues and set our moods for this year together. Living our value #awesometogether, we challenge each other doing ‘Dry January’, ‘Veganuary’, and/or ‘Giving up one thing/add one thing to January’. As a group, we share our stories, photos, and recipes to motivate each other but also hold each other accountable for the challenge we committed to.
Most people are probably sick of hearing: ‘January is the time for new beginnings’ – me too! Is January the time for new beginnings? Well, in my opinion, every day is a good time for new beginnings! I have never been a fan of New Year’s Resolutions as they are abandoned before you can even say the word out loud. They can be more pressure than motivation. You have always the chance for a fresh start, to reflect, and set new goals – regardless of the date! I don’t have any New Year Resolutions and I never had any, but I love the support from our group: The team spirit, this feeling of being connected to my colleagues I haven’t seen for a very long time and challenging myself and other people.
Climb out of that hole and develop new momentum from it! Challenge accepted?
Take care of each other and be kind.
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