Have you ever felt the seasonal blues? The nagging, “why am I not happy?” feeling also known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)?

It’s fairly common and often follows the collective winter holidays of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year for a brief period. And then…POOF.

It vanishes almost as quickly as it came.

The reasoning behind the sudden mood change following the winter holidays is that—just like the feeling itself—all the fun that preceeded them is over. Just like that, having come and gone in the blink of an eye leaving not even a trace. After a three month span of planning, shopping, and going to gatherings, the thrill is gone. A single question is now playing on repeat in one’s mind: “what’s next and what do I have to look forward to now? “

For some, this time of year is the only time they get to spend with family and the prospect of not seeing them again for a while can be pretty depressing. For others, this time of year signals a nice long period of relaxation from the pressures of their jobs and the prospect of going back to work can seem daunting.

Finding hope (or even something to look forward to) after a letdown can be challenging. One could plan annual winter getaways with friends, or one could plan a book club meetup to coincide with the beginning of the New Year. No matter what it is or however small it may seem, there is always an activity we can plan to get us over the slump.

I would like to offer one other thought for your consideration: how about doing nothing? How about using that slump to just be? To be completely silent? No winter getaways with friends, no clubs—just you and old man winter. No rituals. Just doing whatever comes to mind. For me this has become a catalyst to the start of something new and unplanned.

The unplanned is what gives us hope for a better tomorrow.