As another January finishes, I thought I would share my experience of RED January with you all. 

I have been taking part in RED January this year for the second year running (!). What I want to know is: Is it FAB or a FAD!?! 

For those of you not in the know RED January was set up by Hannah Beecham who, in her own words: 

“…was inspired to start RED January after witnessing the transformative effect that regular exercise had on my Mum as she recovered from a period of severe depression”. 

So, what is it? 

This is what they say on their website: 

This January, challenge yourself to get active every day, your way. 

Whether you run, swim, cycle or choose your favourite fitness activity, set your goal and enjoy support from the RED community every step, splash and pedal of the way! 
 
Kick-start your 2020 in a positive way and raise funds for Mind so together we can be active for better mental health. 

The idea is to combine the positive effects of exercising everyday with fundraising for MIND, a mental health charity. 

So, fundamentally, this movement sounds extremely positive.  

However, are there any downsides? Is it just another New Year’s FAD or something FABtastic for our society? 

Here’s what I think and have experienced! 

I suffer from cyclic mood disorder called cyclothymia therefore in the effort to stay healthy I use exercise as a tool.  However, I often lack intrinsic motivation and it is helpful to have outside influences to spur me on. 

RED January is FAB!!! 

Accountability

I find it much easier to stay on top of my exercise routine if I have something/someone I am accountable to.

RED January gives this to me in abundance. I have chosen to report my exercise every day on social media. This is so that I am feeling accountable to the Instagram, Facebook and Twitter communities. This creates the “what would they think if I didn’t post” feeling.

I am not sure this is entirely healthy, but it mostly works for me. See below for the occasions it doesn’t! 

Inspiration/Awareness 

I think it is extremely important to be promoting the often-free tool of exercise to aid those of us with poor mental health. Actually, to be honest, to aid everyone with their mental health poor or otherwise.

Our mental health should be up there in our thoughts alongside physical health, they are intrinsically linked. Exercise/movement is something innately human that our modern lifestyles have somewhat squeezed out over the years. 

It is important to show vulnerability to others and to promote something that will make us all feel better! Several friends of mine mentioned that they are attempting the challenge this year after being inspired by my efforts last year. This really spurred me on and gave me a reason, outside of myself to continue this year. 

The RED January movement also brings more awareness of FREE physical activities such as the weekly parkruns, exercising with friends, home/youtube workouts, running in general. This can never be a bad thing in the eyes of the FI community. Anything we can benefit from for free has to be a positive, doesn’t it?!?! 

Encourages the Creation of Healthy Habits

RED January encourages you to keep a record of the exercise you do each day. This starts to create healthy habits that hopefully will continue into the rest of your year.

This does not always mean doing something high intensity or cardio everyday but it can include yoga or stretching routines. Things such as: 

• A run before/after work – to either ease you into your day or get rid of the negative energy/stress from a work filled day 
• Socialising with friends through exercise – This is one the best benefits of this movement. I love exercising with friends, it gives me an incentive to get out of the house and to get moving when others are relying on me. This really encourages teamwork, especially when you’re all working towards the same goal. (It can also create some healthy competition, which is always good if you have a competitive nature like me). 
• Yoga/stretching routine before bed – gets rid of the stresses of the day and naturally prepares your body for sleep. 

Listen to / read about other ways to create healthy habits in Dr Chatterjee’s podcast and new book. 

Raising Money for a Charity

The charity MIND does such good work to aid those with mental health problems. Anything to help them must be positive. 

RED January is a FAD!! 

Just Another New Year’s Resolution

Even if you manage to maintain the pace throughout January most will struggle to continue. It is not really feasible to put in to practice all year long.

Can Create a “Forlorn February”!

This is a very important point. Last year I found February mentally hard for several reasons.

First, I was exhausted from RED January as I had done it to the extreme. I had rarely given myself time to stretch and recover.

Secondly, I had nothing to be accountable to in February so therefore I lost my motivation.

I managed to carry on with my cycling to work twice a week as this was now a habit. But I struggled to maintain any of the other elements of exercise that I had taken part in. I had not created habits that would stick.

So, this year I am determined to maintain some sort of continuation in my exercise. I’ll let you know how I get on! 

Ties Me to Social Media – Become Slightly Obsessed!

This year I have found that the pressure to report my every bit of exercise has weighed heavily.

Obviously, you can still take part in RED January without announcing it on social media every day. I have felt duty bound to do so to keep up the awareness of a good cause.

Despite having good intentions this has negatively affected me this year. As a consequence I have become slightly obsessed and stressed by it! 

Summary

On balance RED January for me RED January is definitely FAB!!!. If you manage the negatives sensibly it can help you get through the January blues very effectively. Also, if you use it as a tool to create new healthy habits it will positively impact the rest of your year!

For anyone else who took part in RED January, well done!

If you didn’t I’d love to see you by my side next year. Let’s see if we can get the Financial Independence community working together and raise lots of money for a good cause!