January Joy Prescription

January in the northern hemisphere is often painted as a bleak month. After the sparkle and stimulation of December, many people feel dropped abruptly into winter, grey skies, cold days, and a sense of now what? We may feel overdone, overwhelmed, or oddly flat, despite all the “New Year, New You” energy swirling around us.

So what if we looked at January differently?

Rather than seeing it as something to push through or fix, consider this an invitation to create a January Joy Prescription.

When I say “prescription,” I don’t mean anything overwhelming or demanding. This isn’t about hustle, goals, grind, or productivity. It’s about joy, real, accessible, nourishing joy.

And joy doesn’t have to be big.

It can be as simple as clearing out your cupboard so only the mugs you truly love remain, making sure you’re drinking your tea or coffee from cups that feel good in your hands. It might be setting a date with yourself, or with a friend. Watching a favourite film, reading a comforting book, or doing something quietly familiar that makes you smile.

In a month where many people feel stuck indoors, cold, and disconnected, these small, intentional acts can create a surprising shift. Even something as subtle as making your home smell beautiful, diffusing essential oils, lighting a candle, opening a window for fresh air, can lift your nervous system and your spirit.

Everyone’s prescription will look different. That’s the point.

I invite you to write down between five and ten joyful things you can gently spread throughout January. Be intentional. Let this be something you commit to, not because you should, but because it supports you.

Ask yourself:

How does this prescription feel in my body?
Does it feel anchored?
Does it feel kind?
Does it feel supportive to my nervous system?

Joy must feel good to be healing.

At the end of January, take a moment to reflect. How did you feel when you followed your prescription? You might even decide to write a joy prescription each month for the rest of the year. Small, intentional doses of joy can quietly but powerfully shift the tone of your life.

So often, we move through months even doing “nice” things, without truly connecting to joy. Without intention, we can lose touch with it. Then suddenly, six months have passed and we feel disconnected, flat, or out of alignment.

Joy reconnects us.

Joy lets sunshine in, even during dark seasons. You can be in the middle of a beautiful summer and still feel disconnected from joy and equally, you can be in the depths of winter and feel warmth inside. That warmth comes from alignment: when mind, body, heart, and soul begin to speak the same language.

Let January be about that alignment.

You might reflect on what brought you joy as a child and weave some of that in. Maybe it’s cooking a favourite childhood meal, having a cosy evening snuggled up, or putting on music and dancing in the kitchen. Even organising drawers or creating a little order in your space, while not everyone’s idea of joy, can feel deeply satisfying and grounding, especially at the start of a new year.

There is so much pressure placed on January. That pressure is often why people hit a wall halfway through the month, feeling like something isn’t working or that they’ve already failed. But what if we removed that pressure entirely?

What if January became about joy?

You may find that by the time February arrives, the goals, plans, and practicalities have naturally rearranged themselves, not through force, but through flow. Joy connects us to alignment, and alignment often makes everything else feel more seamless.

It’s curious how rarely we make joy a priority, even though it is one of the most powerful medicines we have.

Of course, there are caveats. Life can be heavy. You may be navigating grief, illness, uncertainty, or pain. Choosing joy doesn’t mean bypassing those realities or pretending they don’t exist. But even in the hardest seasons, allowing a small amount of joy, even 1% can make a meaningful difference.

This is something I’ve learned deeply through navigating chronic illness and health challenges. Those 1% shifts matter. They build. They accumulate. And over time, they change how we experience our lives.

We live in a society that measures success through productivity and performance, often disconnecting us from the things that truly nourish us. Sometimes we even feel guilty for choosing joy, especially when life feels hard. But joy doesn’t invalidate struggle, it supports us through it.

We are not here to live for other people’s expectations. We are here to live for ourselves.

So if there is one invitation I want to offer you this year, it is this: take your power back, even if it’s just 1%. Build from there.

This January, write yourself a joy prescription. If five to ten things feels like too much, choose one or two. Make it beautiful. Make it yours.

And if you feel called, share your joy prescription with me. Tell me what you chose. Tell me how it felt. Perhaps this becomes a ritual you return to again and again.

Because there is very little in this world as powerful as joy medicine — for the body, the mind, the heart, and the soul.

Never underestimate it.

All my love

Hannah X