Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To wish people wouldn't be so negative about January

148 replies

kingscote · 19/12/2018 10:54

Had somebody already in work going on about how she's dreading January because it will be so boring and she'll have no money to go out and everyone will be off drink etc etc

I bought a magazine yesterday which was the January edition and it was full of dreary articles about diet and exercise.

AIBU to wish people would stop turning January into some kind of national month of sackcloth and ashes?

Yes, some people like to see the start of a new year as a time to make changes. But it's the general going on and on about it in a gloomy and negative way that really gets to me.

OP posts:
Russiawithlove · 19/12/2018 15:00

The 3rd of Jan is when I finally get my leg cast off after 13 weeks. I've never wanted Jan to get here so quickly Grin

witchhazelblue · 19/12/2018 15:08

My DD's birthday is at the end of January so its always a busy month for us and exciting for her. It is a shame hearing people complaining about how rubbish a month it is when for us, its as exciting as Christmas (more so in many ways). I hope when she's grown up she won't have friends ducking out of her celebrations on the basis they're doing dry January or something though! Grin

The big gap between paydays makes it all a tough time though.

BumDisease · 19/12/2018 15:11

"Because it is stress inducing and a shitty commute. I drive past a very well known shopping mall, and at this time of year the roads are so jam packed that my commute is just awful."

Do people not commute during the summer?

bellinisurge · 19/12/2018 15:12

My birthday is in January. Love it.

Waspnest · 19/12/2018 15:20

I love January, I never make resolutions but it always feels as if it's a new start full of fresh possibilities and you know that the days are getting longer even if you can't see it yet.

I hate November the most, it's usually wet dreary and you know the days are getting longer and then the pressure of Christmas starts building, the shops and roads get busier.....I feel a slight sense of panic building in November (mostly due to Christmas) but that dissipates in January.

Waspnest · 19/12/2018 15:22

days are getting shorter not longer!

OneStepMoreFun · 19/12/2018 15:27

I love January. Like fanfan I think of it as a chance for new beginnings. I don't find Dry January and health kicks feel like sack cloth and ashes - they are positive, revitalising actions to set you up for the year ahead. And I love all the frosty walks, the spring bulbs beginning to flower and all the planning for the year ahead - holidays and goals and things to look forward to.

Lydiaatthebarre · 19/12/2018 15:29

I don't think the OP is saying that January can't be a dull or difficult month, more that some people make it even more so by banging on and on about dieting and giving up drink and staying in every night and walking six miles before breakfast every morning and suchlike.

Fine if people want to eat more healthily or cut back on the booze or stick to a strict budget, but some people act as if this is all there is to January and seem to assume that everyone else is doing the same and kind of turn it into a miserable month where we're all supposed to be compensating for Christmas. There is a kind of an 'we're all in it together' assumption from some people, whereas a lot of us just want to get on with normal living in January and don't see it as a month of sacrifices.

And I agree about January editions of magazines. They're incredibly boring and depressing and I usually don't buy them.

drspouse · 19/12/2018 15:30

We usually go skiing in January and we aren't this year, but apart from that I don't mind it. I'm going to try and get us to go to the indoor ski slope a couple of times though.

Decorations usually don't go down till the 6th thank you. And the nativity stays up till Candlemas.

February is even better as it's my birthday and nearer Easter and it starts getting lighter. My birthday is annoyingly close to Valentine's Day though so it's hard to get a table for a meal. My job won't let me go away in half term though so juggling childcare is annoying.

I might try and get some kind of sledge or toboggan or bum board just in case it snows.

cowfacemonkey · 19/12/2018 15:30

I love January!

Swansandducks · 19/12/2018 15:32

I agree re January magazines. They're full of finger wagging, 'now you have to pay for the Christmas indulgence' articles. Annoying and bloody depressing. Just stop it!

Slightlycoddled · 19/12/2018 15:34

I think your attitude to it can depend on whether you are in a "happy place" in your life or not. (Sorry, hate that phrase, can't think of another way to put it.)

If your relationships are good and you are healthy and solvent, you enjoy your job, or at least it is secure, then there is room for making improvements/travel/new projects perhaps?

But if you are chronically ill or depressed or in serious debt, or your relationships are stress-inducing, you can't find a job or your job is under threat, and those things are not under your control, then it's just more of the same isn't it?

Slightlycoddled · 19/12/2018 15:38

Was going to say I feel like that about women's magazines all year around! Every copy of a magazine aimed at middle-aged women I've read in the hairdresser's seems to be urging us to change this, or change that, or exercise more, or lose weight, or reconnect with your husband, or re-style yourself or put some sort of work in to change yourself.

Because middle-aged women can't just be.

LaurieFairyCake · 19/12/2018 15:39

January is great. It's February and March that are usually awful as the winter drags on and on til about May last year.

FreeButtonBee · 19/12/2018 15:40

I like January. I like the ebb and flow of life so Christmas being over and sweeping out all the pine needles and taking stock of life appeal to me. I enjoy the festivities and I enjoy retreating into my own world after it. I don't go full on Dry Jan but it's useful to reset drinking and eating habits and to think about how we want the year to go.

The second half of February can do one though. Despite being the shortest month, it's never ending. I know technically it's getting brighter but it just takes toooooo long.

Swansandducks · 19/12/2018 15:43

I used to be one of those people who invested so much in Christmas that it became the focal point of the year. I would start getting excited and playing Christmas music in November, and when January hit I would feel unbelievably down and sad.

Then I started to build a more fulfilling life for myself and now I enjoy Christmas during the month of December, but have lots of other things to enjoy as well, so I don't hit that miserable wall in January.

I also think a lot of people put things off until after Christmas: 'Oh I'll worry about it when Christmas is over' kind of thing, so then face a load of deferred tasks or problems in January.

FreeButtonBee · 19/12/2018 15:43

Oh yes, and Valentine's day. That's one 'celebration' that I would happily see the back off. Unless you're a teenager, really it's just an excuse for smuggery or to extract gifts from otherwise curmudgeonly and/or undemonstrative partners.

clearsommespace · 19/12/2018 15:55

I like January for the new start feeling.
No chance of cutting back on rich food though. I'm in France and the local bakery does a wonderful 'galette des rois' (Epiphany cake).
But I think there is less hype about Christmas here so probably less of a come down too.

halfwitpicker · 19/12/2018 15:56

Yabu.

Biggerknickersagain · 19/12/2018 16:17

Where I work we're all counting down the days to January! Well January 7th to be precise! Most people and children back to school and those who diet, are on dry January or have overspent don't come to a celebration venue/pub/restaurant. After the utter madness of Christmas and New year, it's downtime, and we have our own 'christmas' party the first weekend too.
Takings are down obviously, so for some it's crap because casual hours are slashed but for a lot of us core staff they're not.
I agree it's dismal in regards to weather and spring seems a long way off but I tend to do all those things I put off in January, like deep cleaning and decorating. Sorting fences out and segregating fields and sorting the stable yard out. There are some nice clear crisp days to ride out or dog walk on and as from Friday, the shortest day, nights start to draw out again (a bit of an obsession for horse folk) I think it's something like 1 minute a day maybe?

gogogoforit · 19/12/2018 16:24

YANBU.

I agree that the increased hyping up of Christmas probably plays a major part in the gloom and doom that seems to descend in January. It's not my favourite month of the year, but some people seem to go out of their way to drag themselves down and start anticipating being miserable and it becomes a self fulfilling prophesy.

Personally I think February is a more tiring month, and by then I'm really dying to see a bit of warm weather and brightness.

goingonabearhunt1 · 19/12/2018 16:33

I don't know why folks are so extreme about everything. Christmas madness, spending and eating everything in sight and then in January nothing. I don't do either, I do my best to ignore most of it (and my self image is a lot better since I stopped reading women's magazines!)

goingonabearhunt1 · 19/12/2018 16:34

Also, I don't really make resolutions but I do think it's nice to kind of stop and take stock, think about the past year, plans for the next year etc.

bluetongue · 19/12/2018 16:36

My January will be awesome Grin

I’ll be on holiday abroad skiing and eating my body weight in cheese and pastries (France). There will also be plenty of drinking and non-holiday me barely drinks. It will be my three weeks of hedonism and I can’t bloody weight.

Oh and I live in Australia where there are usually heatwaves in January and I hate the heat. I’m much more of a winter person.

ichifanny · 19/12/2018 16:39

I always feel bloated and skint and my birthday is in January , this year I have headed it off by booking a holiday for January , saving money and starting weight watchers in November , already over a stone down and a lovely break to look forward to .