Unhappy, regretful, miserable, low-spirited, financial cringe and downright sad.

A few names can be labelled for the feelings you might be feeling today. Today is labelled the saddest day of the year, ‘Blue Monday,’ when credit card statements roll in, bank accounts dip down, and pennies get pinched as the winter season continues.

Just because they say it is the saddest day of the year doesn’t mean you must contribute to today’s woes (woe is them, not you). Here are some tips and tricks to keep your feelings out of the blue and your mindset in the yellow, which makes green (Green, for the people who didn’t spend anything over the Christmas season):

1. Be optimistic

Keeping an optimistic mindset about your life and what the future may hold, is a great way to keep yourself thinking forward rather than thinking backward. Remember, you can’t drive forward, keeping your eyes on the rearview mirror. In the same way, you can’t relive what was already done in the past.

2. Celebrate your accomplishments

You have done a lot of great things in your life. You will continue to do great things in your life. Celebrate the wins and goals accomplished and bask in its warmth.

3. Smile

It has been confirmed that smiling spurs a chemical reaction in the brain, releasing certain hormones, including dopamine and serotonin. So, get hooked on smiling. Smile in the morning, smile when eating, smile when walking, smile when tackling a hard challenge. Smile when faced with adversity because you’ll feel better.

4. Clean

Did you know that cleaning and decluttering can boost your mood, helps you move your body more, improve focus, and help you feel more in control of your surroundings? Having a cleaner environment equals having a better mood. Plus, you get a bit of a workout, especially when you get into those nooks and crannies.

5. Face Stressors Head on

First and foremost, you must stop avoiding the elephant in the room. Open the banking app. Look at the credit card statement and pay it off. Just because you avoid it, ignore it, and act like there are better things to pay attention to does not mean that it will go away. Tackle the issue and get the metaphorical monkey off your back so that you can feel stress-free (until the following statement arrives).

6. Workout

Go for a walk, run, stretch, and work up a sweat. Your mood immediately changes for the better when you get your heart rate up, and the dopamine flowing.

7. Keep God First and reinvest into your faith

Nothing can change your mood faster than God, his grace, his abundance that falls upon you. Prayer is the answer; it’s rewarding, it’s connecting, and it’s the only path to eternal happiness in life.