It’s funny, on Monday, I was in a bit of a funk. Just one of those days where nothing seemed to be going according to plan. I’d had dental work done the week prior that (still) doesn’t seem to be solving the problems that I’ve been having. I had a headache and a stuffy nose. We had bloodwork scheduled for early Tuesday morning, which meant a hard stop on eating after 5:30PM, and no alcohol for a couple days prior. The work I wanted to get done wasn’t as finished as I’d like it to be. My Oura ring was reminding me I wasn’t recovered. We found out that the RV park we were going to stay at all next month is closed from flooding, and our plans for the winter got completely changed around in the span of a few hours. In short, I was in a serious grump.
So, it was pretty funny for me to realize that Monday, January 16th, is also known as Blue Monday, apparently the most depressed day of the year. And bonus, it’s followed by 1/19 on Thursday, deemed Quitters Day by Strava as the day most people stop their resolutions. Amazing. It’s the day most people quit their resolutions, it’s just far away enough from the holidays that the warm fuzzy glow is gone and real life is back… and there I was, in a gloomy mood.
The only saving grace? At least I recognized that I was in the grump… but that didn’t get me out of it. Not entirely. But if you’re in the same spot as me, still in a bit of a funk, I’m hoping these few suggestions help put you back on track:
Journalling
Journalling about it and putting my grumpy points in perspective helped. Actually listing them out on paper instantly made them seem a little less stressful than when they were swirling around in my head. It also helped me figure out a couple of practical solutions or next action steps to take. To me, this is the most important step since it usually solves most of the problems just by getting them out of your head.
Being proactive
Dan John said it on today’s podcast: being proactive is the best way to be. And in my case yesterday, that was certainly true. While some of my solutions to my litany of problems weren’t immediately actionable, there were a couple I could instantly tackle:
- Headache? Check the usual things—like hydrating. Which I definitely hadn’t been doing well for the last day. Drank some water, headache eased up a bit.
- Dental issues? Called the dentist and asked for a check-in vs waiting for my next appointment. Got in later that day. (Still a saga, but at least I was able to rule out anything truly problematic)
But don’t be reactive
The other side of the proactive coin is reactivity, and this is where I often mess up, and I did just that yesterday. When the RV site explained their predicament, I went into high gear searching for an immediate solution. Result? Probably 2 hours worth of wasted productivity down the drain, only to find out a few hours later that the reason we needed to be in CA was no longer an issue and we could go literally anywhere in the US—which opened up a ton more options. Moral? Often, being reactive can seem like it’s being proactive, when in reality, pausing for a beat is the better solution. (This is a common thing in training too—how often have you chucked out a whole workout simply because one interval felt crappy, rather than refocusing and doing the best you could?)
Take a pause
I’ve been skipping meditation for the last few weeks because we’ve been home, which means I’m skipping all extras in favor of family time. Yesterday, I got back to it, and I’m so glad I did. It was just for a few minutes, but it settled my system down in a big way. The same applies for getting out for a walk—especially if your stress is largely related to issues happening on your computer screen!
Refocus
Yesterday might be the day most people leave resolutions behind, but for me, it was a reminder of my one-word resolution I set earlier this month: to be more Intentional with everything I’m doing. I’ve definitely already slipped up on that, but bringing it back to the forefront reminded me to focus on what I could control and lean into, and that helped me enjoy the very early dinner that we were having with my parents before we had to fast for bloodwork.
Do something
Especially if you’re reading this because it’s Quitters day and you want to skip your ride or run… just do something that keeps you from ‘technically’ breaking your streak, even if it’s a 10 minute walk or 5 minutes spin. See how you feel tomorrow—often, getting through that first day of ‘I don’t wanna’s’ is the hardest part.
You’ve got this!
