Monday Motivation: Don’t Hate Mondays! Make Mondays Hate You!

July 3, 2017

Mondays can be the worst, right?

If Monday were a person, it would be a big surly man, with a cane in his hand, ready to whip us at the slightest whim. Having to wake up at an unholy hour, get ready for the day and prepare to shoulder those dreaded responsibilities can be tough after the blissful euphoria of the weekend of sleeping in and watching all those Tv series.

But hey, look at it this way: Monday can be your opportunity to set the tone for the rest of the week. That probably doesn’t make it any better I know, but finding the positives in what looks like a permanent negative is truly the only way us stressed out humans can really stay sane.

Not to go all “Norman Vincent Peale” on you all, but The power of Positive Thinking is not a myth. I know it can be annoying when we are going through a stressful situation and some person (whose opinion we never ask for!) says those two damning words: “Think Positive!”.

But in hindsight, they are actually right.

Sure, they could’ve found a better way to frame instead of making it seem like maintaining a positive state of mind in the midst of adversity is an easy task rather than a difficult, uphill battle.

Making the best out of your Mondays can be done.

We may not have control over the challenges we might face at the beginning of each week, but we can control the way we react to them. I am all too familiar with the feeling of worry and how it is, for most of us, the first emotion we feel when encountering any kind of obstacle.

But, what if instead of worrying immediately, we spring into action first?

Let’s look at this simple scenario…

Your car suddenly refuses to start in the morning and you have to be at work in 30 minutes.

Do you

a) repeatedly hit the steering wheel (Hey! It’s not its fault) in frustration

b) come out of the car and kick it several times hoping to high heavens all it needed was a good kick

c) start cursing all the people involved in bringing this car to you from the car manufacturer to the car salesman who swore on his life that “Ahn, this car will never disappoint ooo!”

These are all understandable reactions, to be fair, but what if you…

d): Think about a solution to the problem: e.g. get a ride to work with your colleague or get a taxi,

You could also…

e) Call your trusty mechanic, explain the problems & see if it is something that you can fix easily.

What is the lesson?

THINK FIRST, WORRY LATER!!!

Once you go straight into finding a solution for your problem, the worrying part is sidelined and your brain actively focuses on fix-it options. So rather than dwelling on the issue, think positively. Let your mindset be: How can I solve this problem? This applies to that late minute Monday morning presentation that your boss springs up on you, or that annoying deadline you need to meet. There is power in positive thinking and taking control of our attitudes and mindset is the first step in defeating our challenges.

So, when the scary Monday man comes with the cane in his hand, don’t worry or panic. Take a deep breath and think positively. There is only one option to solve the problem: