Today is Blue Monday. You know, The Blue Monday. The one that allegedly wins an imaginary gold medal for being the most depressing day of the year. The day when motivation crawls under the duvet, optimism calls in sick, the day motivation vanishes, joy hides behind the sofa, and even your kettle sighs dramatically before boiling.
Even better? now—just to make things worse (or significantly better, depending on your outlook)—it’s absolutely infested with gremlins.
Not just metaphorical gremlins. Actual ones.
First of all—deep breath—who decided that sadness could be scheduled? Was there a committee? A spreadsheet? A very bored person with a calculator and unresolved feelings? Because if misery were that organised, half of us would have our lives together by now. None of us would still be googling “how to be a functioning adult” at 11am. Yeah, we saw your browser history. That's a whole other post.
The truth? Blue Monday was originally a marketing ploy to encourage people to book flights.
That's ALL. Crazy, right?
Still, here we are. Blue Monday. Let’s acknowledge it, but let’s also not give it more power than it deserves. It does, however, prompt an important reminder:
Yes, January is cold.
Yes, it’s dark outside at 4pm.
Yes, January is 147 days long.
Absolutely, your bank account looks like it’s been mugged in an alley and doing that thing where it pretends not to know you. 😭
Worry doesn't take away tomorrow's troubles,
it takes away today's peace, and means you suffer twice.
Shift your focus… Why worry when you can cause a little chaos or happiness and make life easier all round? Humans are weird. Gremlins are weird. One of them has definitely eaten the last biscuit and blamed “January.”
And lets face it… weird is wonderful!
Here’s the thing: Head Gremlins (a.k.a your inner critic) thrive on seriousness and worry. They love despair. They snack on self-criticism and wash it down with guilt.
What they absolutely cannot handle?
Kindness.
Laughter.
Silliness.
A wildly unnecessarily pair bright of mismatched socks.
So if Blue Monday is going to show up uninvited with a horde of head gremlins in tow, we might as well lean into the chaos. We might as well meet it with humour, kindness, and a slightly unhinged sense of perspective. And unleash the Gremlin Wrangling tactics of joining in with the shenanigans.
Laugh at something dumb.
Be kind to yourself on purpose.
Be kind to someone else on purpose.
Text the friend. Text your number neighbour.
Eat the biscuit/s without apologising and enjoy every crumb.
Wave back at the head gremlin just to confuse it or offer it a snack.
You don’t have to fix today.
You don’t have to be the most productive you've ever been.
You don’t have to sparkle like a motivational quote in human form.
Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is exist gently while gremlins swing from the light fixtures and shout unsolicited opinions about your life choices. Find the absurdity in it all.
That'll show 'em.
This is your invitation (in writing and everything, we're dead official here at GW) to embrace the weirdness. Lean in to the Silliness. Celebrate the cheekiness that makes life lighter, even when the sky is grey and your to-do list is judging you silently as it doubles in size. To let life be more than a little bit unhinged and an awful lot kinder. Blue Monday doesn’t get the final word. The head gremlins don’t either.
Kindness does. Laughter does. You do.
Be softer with yourself than your inner critic ever allows.
And tomorrow? Ehhhh.. If nothing else—tomorrow is Tuesday, which has never claimed to be anything special at all. Slightly less dramatic. Fewer gremlins. Possibly. Unless you're me, in which case a new Neca one will probably be arriving in the mail. 📦
❤️Kindness wins. 🧡💛Laughter wins. 💚💙You win.💜
Need an anthem? Head here for a silly little kickstart to your day.
