January… The month of new beginnings and fresh starts. The slate is wiped clean of all past doings and the hope for a better tomorrow is so thick you can slice it right out of the air and serve it for dinner! Then what? When the bloom of change begins to whither and die, how do you get back the fresh start you were so desperately hoping for? When you start to drag your feet and pray for the end of the day to come swiftly so that you can retreat back to your room where you feel safest, how do you get past this urge to stay withdrawn?

Honestly, I cannot tell you what to do or how to get past these moments. All I can do is share my own experiences of how I do it, and perhaps, when the moment is right, you can try it for yourself and you will know that I am in your corner, by your side rooting for your change within to blossom and grow so that one day you will be the healthy, productive member of society that only you can be.

One thing I do is smile. Whether it feels fake or not, just smile. I have found that if you are always smiling, random people that you run into and you never see them again tend to smile back. Smiles are contagious and yet laughter is infectious. So when a random someone smiles back because your eyes met ever so briefly, just laugh.. You don’t have to laugh out loud, a little chuckle to yourself will do. It may only brighten your spirits for a small moment, but every small moment adds up to a big event!

Create a hobby for yourself… It doesn’t have to expensive, just something you do for yourself, by yourself. If you’d like to do it with others go ahead, it really depends on you and what mood you are in at the time. I think that the least expensive hobby that I have taken up is my comic strip journals. All you need is a blank composition book, scissors, tape, and the daily comics from the newspaper. Cut out the comics that you feel apply to your mood for that day and tape them into your book. Super simple and it doesn’t take up much space because once you have the comics you want, just throw the rest away. Easy cleanup, and anyone can do it no matter what mood you are in. When I start my day feeling gloomy, I get out my book and read it. Some of the goofiest ideas I’ve had have come from these books.