Blue monday or change-your-point-of-view monday?

I figured that Blue Monday called for a blue outfit (as I do every year)! We'll get onto the concept of Blue Monday in a minute but come rain or shine, you can guarantee that none of my wardrobe is ever ruled out. Some people 'put their summer clothes away for winter' and vice versa but I prefer to make the most of my (obscene amount of) clothes all year long. So this time, I wore blue printed midi skirt (that I've had for years) with black shirt, tied at the waist. I love tying my shirts at the waist because it stops you getting that fabric bulge when you attempt to tuck it in, while keeping your waist visible. I added a pair of black and white strappy court heels and finished with navy duster coat. You know, just for that extra dose of blue.

According to science, today is officially the most depressing day of the year.  Okay so maybe not science; the concept of Blue Monday was originally created by Sky Travel to help them promote their winter deals. But it's now 15 years later and the word has stuck! There's some sort of official calculation but basically, Blue Monday falls on the third Monday of January and it's thought to be the most depressing because 1) it's a Monday, 2) it's January, 3) the weather's terrible, 4) Christmas is now a distant memory, 5) it still feels like forever until payday and 6) everyone has likely failed their new years resolutions by now and are feeling bad about it. It's also one of the most popular times of year for divorces, breakups and job changes, meaning that a lot of people are currently unhappy in their job and/or relationship.

But despite the long list of reasons why today should be terrible, I still maintain that life is what you make it. My outlook is very much that you wake up every day and you get to decide whether or not you have a good day. You may not be able to control what happens, but you get to control how you feel. So Karen in Accounts is being an even bigger bitch than normal; do you get annoyed by her or do you ignore her and focus on yourself instead? And when you learn the knack for changing your thinking, you will see just how good life really is right now.

1. We have more rights and equality

Sexism and racism are still huge problems, more so in the US than here. Brexit is weeding out more racists than ever and complete ignorance towards other people's cultures makes you wonder about the kind of people we share a planet with. But while it may be far from perfect, if you compare the situation now to 10, 20 or 50 years ago, you realise how far we've come. Not all too long ago, women couldn't go to work at all, now we're getting more women in medicine, science, computing and CEO positions. Not to mention more diversity in schools, in universities, in the workplace. We're certainly heading in the right direction!

2. We have more opportunities to travel

In my mum and dad's generation, it was unheard of for people to have ever even been abroad and it was super expensive if you did. Now you can fly all over the world for only a few hundred pounds and people my age are travelling to Asia, Australia, Dubai, Bali and South America. Places that our parents and grandparents had barely even heard of at our age!

3. Social media helps with awareness and broadcasting

There's a lot of negativity surrounding social media; about how it puts pressure on young people about their appearance, about how its damaging to mental health, about how it sets people up with unrealistic life expectations and leads to a culture where we never put our phone down. But actually, social media allows us to learn about issues that aren't covered in the mainstream news, to have a platform to express and debate ideas, to keep up with friends who we maybe can't see very often and to get inspired on everything from food recipes to fashion trends. Having everything at our fingertips can be seen as a good or bad thing; you decide which it is.

4. There are jobs available in fields that didn't use to exist

There's always squawks about how millennial's have the hardest time getting jobs, due to an increased population, ever-increasing call for a degree and decrease in manual jobs that are now done by machines. And while all of that may be true, there's also jobs in fields that didn't exist before. Now you can be a Social Media Manager, a UX Technical Writer, a Project Development Manager and any number of other jobs that relate to a change in technology. And the great thing is that because we've grown up with technology, we're usually more qualified to do these jobs than the generations before us. You've just got to stay determined and work hard!

5. We have advanced healthcare

I often hear conspiracy theorist types, talking about how there simply must be a cure for cancer by now because we've been working on finding it for so long (the idea being that it makes more money to treat people than to cure them so they keep it a secret). I couldn't disagree with this more and think that people who think like that are simply incapable of accepting life for what it is; they want to believe there's a magic fix for everything in life and they want someone to blame for their life not being perfect. If you got diagnosed with cancer 30 years ago, you were 25% more likely to die from it than you are now. That's huge in a short space of time! Not to mention all the other advancements in the healthcare industry that are happening every day; it's the best it's ever been.

6. There are more chances to meet people

Our generation is often frowned upon for the way we conduct relationships, while our grandparents relationships are romanticised. And while the older generation may have longstanding relationships, I always do wonder if it's because of a lack of choice. Most people back then ended up with someone from the same town or city as them, so they generally picked the best of a small bunch. Whereas now, thanks to social media, online dating and more people travelling and moving around, the dating pool is never-ending. So while we may be more overwhelmed by choice (and perhaps less likely to put in the hard work and commitment with one person), we're probably more likely to know ourselves, know what we've looking for and to eventually end up with someone who's a good fit. The tried-and-tested approach is scientifically sound, after all.

So this Blue Monday, instead of focusing on all the things that are bad about your life, yourself, your current situation, your generation or the world in general, think about the good things instead. It's less exhausting, more fun and leaves you with more head space to think about important things. Like where you're going on holiday next or what Netflix series you should binge when you get home.