10 Ways to Beat the February Blahs!

Back in October I gave the reasons why it's my favourite month. In the spirit of positivity I'm working hard to embrace I thought I'd try the same thing with my least favourite month - February.

I don't know why poor February has been relegated to last place in my Top Twelve Month listing but hmm, let me see...Cold. Winter. No Sun. Blahs.

Yeah. That last one. The February Blahs are the worst.

But let's see if I can turn that negative perception around by doing a positivity list and see how I feel by the end of it. They say, if you try hard enough, you can embrace even the most blahest of blah times. So here goes…

1. February is the shortest month of the year. Yay! Seriously, whoever developed the Roman calendar (that is the one we follow, right?) must have had a vision of poor, frozen souls shivering in Canada waiting for the sun to come back. So they said, "Hey! Let's make this month only 28 days!" A psychological trick but it works wonders.

2. Valentine's Day! Okay, I know it's a total marketing scam started by candy companies to sell chocolate truffles but who doesn't like to eat chocolate truffles?? And eating chocolate truffles with the one you love is always a mood lifter.

3. Winterlicious! Not sure if other cities besides Toronto have all their best restaurants open their doors with scrumptious meals at reasonable prices to get people to come out and eat in what would otherwise be a dreary month but it's a hit here in T.O. I've already gone to lunch and dinner at two different restaurants I don't normally frequent. Getting out of the office and the house and socializing makes this a great way to break the winter blahs. Go Winterlicious!

4. Family Day! Here in Ontario it's a new holiday on February 15. Kids are off school, government employees have the day off and so do some private businesses. A time to spend with the family doing nothing together or spend it going to the movies, skiing, skating - whatever it is you enjoy doing together. If you don't have a Family Day mandated where you live, why not mandate your own day. Play hooky and spend time with your kids! Definite blah breaker!

5.Chinese New year! The Chinese New Year starts on February 14 this year (Valentine's Day too - double celebration!) and, bonus, it's the Year of the Tiger! My year, baby! Tiger years promise to be chock full of excitement and energy - hopefully most of it good!

6. Surprises! Okay, that one is a little obscure but the last few years one good surprise has always happened to me in February. I signed with my agent in February and got my book offer in February. Month's almost half-over - come on surprise! Where are you?

7.More time for Writing! Seriously, with no distractions like summer vacations, sunshine and warm weather to frolic in there is nothing to pull you away from your computer. You can go gang-busters on that wordcount! So write, dammit!

8.Oscar-nominated movies! Usually, the Oscars happen at the end of February. This year it's early March. No matter - it just gives me a little extra time to see those great films.

9. Winter Olympics! I know - I know. This only happens every four years. But when it does it's in February!

10. Spring is around the corner! For reals! By February 28 Spring is only 3 WEEKS AWAY! If that doesn't lift the blahs you need more help than writing up a positive list.

So, how do you feel now? You know what? I feel a lot better than before I wrote the list. Just goes to show you thinking positively really can help change your perception on things. Poor February might have just moved up a couple of notches on my Top Twelve Month list. And hey! What's that I see? The sun just came out!!