Beating 'Blue Monday'

Monday 16th January 2012. An ordinary day.  An ordinary day? Is it?

Maybe it's a special day for you.  A birthday. The day you start a new job, you're excited about a first date you've arranged, seeing a loved one who comes back home after being away, you're indulging in your favourite hobby.  There are many reasons to be cheerful which is great - it's what we're all about here!

But for others, feeling good about themselves, holding their head high, thinking positive is hard, especially on Monday 16th January.

Some bright spark called Cliff Arnall, formally a researcher, lecturer and post graduate tutor at the Medical & Dental School of Cardiff University is now a 'Happiness and Motivation Expert'.  He used various formulae to crunch numbers, whizzed a few calculators around and spun a couple of abacus to come up with the most depressing day of the year.  And that day turns out to be Monday 16th of January 2012 - 'Blue Monday'.

Statistics show that one in five people in the UK experience depression and find it more challenging to shrug off their down moods than others.  So what?  Well this is where the POSITIVE ones need to step up and those of us still in training.  We all need to help overcome this being 'the most depressing day of the year'!

Firstly, using the tips we've already discussed here, Facebook and on Twitter prepare yourself and be pos'd up ready to face the day.

But on Blue Monday you need to spread the love too!  It could be a smile to a passing stranger, have a list of jokes to tell to your colleagues throughout the day, donate some money or time to a charity, learn something new and interesting, contact an old friend you've not spoken to for a long time, perform random acts of kindness, eat and drink really healthily.

There's lots of activities to take part in and share with those around you.  Let have a fun positive experience together that day.

There's more information and support from the Mental Health Foundation.


Don't forget - we do it all over again on the second Positive Upload Day - February 2nd!

Positive Action

I've already thought about music that can motivate and make you positive, the list of tunes are of course very personal to you.  You can share ideas but the actual ideal list to maximise your positive potential would be selected just by you for you.

How about things to do?  Are there any particular activities that put you in a positive frame of mind?

Speaking to a friend last week recently made me think about this.  We all have such very busy lives, some busier than others with hugely varying pressures and responsibilities.  Self employed people can have the added accountability that they earn when they work so taking time off can actually be quite stressful knowing there is perhaps little chance of earning a single penny whilst sitting at home.  This was a problem for a good friend of mine over Christmas/New Year.  Christmas was magical for him - rushing about delivering, receiving presents and spending quality time with family.  But as the 'festive tinsel settled' and he sat at home when others were carrying on with their lives he felt in a way somewhat redundant.  This was a huge challenge for him - as I know it is for many others at that time of year.  He knew the rest away from work was important but the fact he was doing something was sending him crazy.

What's the solution?  Well, it's quite simple... get a hobby.  Again, it would be what ever suits you but find something self indulgent that benefits you.

Now, there's nothing selfish or wrong about that.  After all, you work hard and you deserve to be looked after just as much as you would look after a good friend or family member if they needed it.  You can afford to give yourself the same attention.  It could be spending an hour down the gym.  Model plane making, puppet making, sewing, painting, 1 to 1 time with your child, knitting, mucking out the nearest horse stables, volunteering - the list is obviously endless.  But choose something that you'll enjoy, look forward to and in turn will keep you motivated.  For my friend, a simple walk out in the countryside taking in the beauty of nature and breathing in the fresh air was all it needed.  Mine is a combination of things - walking, going to the gym, having a night with like minded friends, listening to music and singing!

Take time to find out your positive activity.  Something to put a smile on your face, a spring in your step and positive thoughts in your mind.  You are likely to find the positive energy you give off when you do it is contagious and you'll motive others to pursue an interest too.

Have fun!



Thank you to Paul who inspired this blog.

More 'I will' than 'I wish'

Hopefully your New Year has got off to a great start and your New Years resolutions are going well!

I had a thought; How many times do we say 'I wish I could....' or 'Ohhh I'd love to ....'?

It could be anything - 'I wish I could speak French' or 'I'd love to visit India', 'I'd love to lose a few pounds' even 'I wish this shed wasn't such a mess'.  You will undoubtedly have your own list and as you become more conscious of slipping those works into your sentences you may discover more.

So another little tip to make you even more powerful is to start converting your wishes and making them come true.  It is in your gift to achieve anything your heart desires with a positive attitude, really anything is possible.

Convert the start of those sentences from 'I wish I could...' into 'I will...'.  The caveat is of course you will have to do something about it but the first step is to believe it;
I will speak French by next year
I will visit India for my 40th birthday
I will lose a few pounds by walking 30 minutes after dinner each day
I will get that shed tidied out... I might get the children to do it(!)

In doing this you are sending a positive message to your brain that it is achievable and you know when it's going to happen too.  If you miss the date you set for yourself.... so what?  Just set another one but still believe you'll do it and you will get there.

Give it a go and I know it really will work for you - after all, who doesn't want their wishes to come true?

Positive Difference? My experience of a positively challenging day

So, it's the day after the day before.  How was the first Positive Upload Day for you?  Did you notice any difference?  Did you do anything differently?  Did it feel like you were making more of an effort, were you making small changes in your perspective or thought processes?  Was it more of a challenge than you thought or did you wonder what all the fuss was about?

My personal experience was this:
New Years Eve, the wife and I went out as many did to see out the old and welcome in the new year.  Working for a water company I was 'on call' so if any incidents happened relating to the clean water distribution network I would be called in to help.  So I was not drinking alcohol but still took part in the celebrations.  
It was a superb night and in terms of work was incident free - a great result!  Managed to get into bed and off to sleep at about 03:30am.  
Just after 4am my work phone rang - there was a very large 'potential' incident that needed immediate attention.  The problem was big so I was quickly up making/receiving phone calls.  If ever a positive attitude was going to be tested this was the time.  But conversely never was there such a need for positive thinking!  There was a possibility that almost 10,500 households plus businesses were at risk of loosing water supply or at best have their pressure severely reduced.  But I consciously made the effort to remain positive in attitude and focused in my efforts.
Well - you'll be glad to hear that a number of different experts came together as a team and worked hard in resolving the issue without a single customer even noticing there was so much hard work and effort going on behind the scenes.  By 3pm we could all relax... and I could catch up on a little sleep!  

It could easily have gone very wrong but it didn't.  Was that great result through the power of positive thinking?  Who knows.  There was recognition that we were 'lucky' because of certain conditions in our favour because of the day it happened.  Luck or was it positive thinking?  There are some who would argue that in thinking positively we can actually influence these types of events.  In my own experience, thinking positively really helped my to remain calm, stay focused, make confident result based decisions and get the job done.

Most importantly... I felt great about it.

Hope you can feel a positive difference in what you do too by changing a few thoughts.

The First Positive Upload Day!

Welcome to the very first of many Positive Upload Day's!

Yes, today is the day when we all share the common positive thoughts, feelings and actions on our blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Bebo updates or what ever your chosen media is all at the same time together!  Don't forget, this isn't just for online it's everywhere you go, for everyone you meet and in everything you do.

You are now part of such a fabulous community taking part in today which will continue to grow over the next few months.  Sharing happiness and positivity is such a brilliant thing to do because we are all winners.

Some have found it a little difficult to understand because they are already positive people.  That's brilliant!  You are indeed the fortunate ones — so today is the day you shine, sharing your tips and secrets, thoughts and feelings as to how you remain so chipper.  You are the ambassadors of Positive Upload Day, embrace it and spread the good news story, you can show everyone what they've been missing out on.

2012 is going to be such a good year for everyone who believes it will be.  It will bring you all you want if you work for it.  It will deliver all your goals and ambitions if you plan it, focus on it, visualise it and surround yourself with like minded people who also what you to get there.

Exciting isn't it.

Please keep in touch and don't forget to join us on Facebook.

Enjoy.