Beating the blues

Well it's official, this Monday was the most depressing day of the year. Not because of anything to do with me, but nicknamed 'Blue Monday', this monday is said to be the worst day of the year due to weather, lack of daylight hours, christmas bills and debts piling up, payday still feeling so far away and general monday blues. There's an official formula and everything. And call it some kind of pathetic fallacy, but I felt like a dreary day should be expressed through dreary colours. These culottes are a perfect winter wardrobe item because the look like a skirt but are warm like trousers and I love navy because it goes with so much. On this occasion, I wore them with grey checked shirt, tied at the waist, and one of my highest pairs of heels. I didn't want to keep the whole outfit dark and cool-toned so I added my blush pink coat and finished with pink lipstick.

While we're on the subject of sadness, I thought it'd be a good chance to go through my thoughts on ways you can be happier. A quick disclaimer beforehand though, is although I described it as 'depressing' above, this is in no way talking about depression or any other mental health matters. Being unhappy is an emotion, while having depression is a condition that usually requires medical or professional help. Anyway, so how can you be happier? It's simple - you decide to be. I feel like it's way too often that we put the burden of our emotions on to other people, when really it's completely up to us. You know that saying that I'm sure someone has said to you at some point; 'that person hasn't annoyed you, you've chosen to be annoyed by that person's actions'? Well, that saying is true. If you constantly rely on external factors then you will always find a reason not to be happy. If you compare yourself to other people, there will always be someone prettier or richer or more successful than you and you'll find a million different reasons not to be happy with what you have. Whereas if you start looking at yourself and your life in isolation, then I bet you can pick at least 5 amazing things out; such as having a steady job, or a really close relationship with your siblings or a really good brain for maths. Once you stop looking at what you aren't or don't have, the sooner you can start realising how lucky you are. The same goes for self-esteem, as well as overall happiness; you can only truly love yourself if you're not constantly pitting yourself against other people. And of course, the same goes for matters of the heart. People often talk about closure after you've gone through heartache but people approach it from the wrong angle. Closure isn't about having that chat with someone or receiving that apology or finally getting that explanation. Closure is when you, in your heart, decide that you are ready to move forwards. The same also goes for forgiveness and anger and regrets; it is completely up to you how you feel, you just have to decide it for yourself. And so if you look for the bad and the ugly and the unhappiness in this world then trust me, you will find it. But the same goes for love and joy and happiness; it's there, you just have to want to see it. And above all, you should remember that there is no path to happiness, happiness is the path. Don't think 'I'll be happy when...', instead just think 'I'll be happy'.