Hating Today? Here's 3 Reasons Why

Monday! Monday! Monday! For most, the most dreaded day of the week. For few, the starting point, the foundation, and the springboard for The Art of War that’s about to wreak havoc and domination upon the next 168 hours (that’s the number of hours in a week for those still a bit foggy on this Monday morning.)

If you are in the majority who are dreading the unchangeable and forever unwavering fact that today (and once a week for the rest of your life) is Monday – this is for you. Here are the top 3 reasons you are likely feeling the way you do.

1 – Your Weekend Was a Disaster

The Monday morning weekend fog probably hits home a bit more for my 20 somethings reading this than others. It’s the simple fact that you spent to much energy and time for the last two and a half days doing things that made you worse, not better. I’m not judging – I’ve been there. The craziest thing about the Monday shame of a weekend that you regret is that most will make self-promises right now to “never do it again” just to fall back into the same exact trap come happy hour next Friday.

Weekends, like everything else in our lives, are habits and rituals. If you leave yourself open to “seeing how the weekend goes” you will end up doing what you have always done which will have you feeling like you always do on Monday morning. The fix for this is quite simple. Right now, while you are at the peak of beating yourself up about the ground you lost over the weekend, make a commitment for this coming Friday-Sunday. Get ahead of the game, and plan things now while you’re in the correct mental and emotional state. In your network, who do you know who seems to come to work better on Monday than he/she left on Friday? Call him/her and schedule to spend your time with them next weekend. What are the things in your life that you know would make you better if you just had the time to do them? Whatever those are, schedule them right now for next weekend. Sign up for that workout class NOW. Commit to reading that book NOW. Schedule that coffee or lunch with the people who are good influences NOW.

The time between the end of the Friday work day and Monday morning is about 33% of the total hours of our lives. How do you spend that third of your life?

2 – You Didn’t Start Right

Almost every competitor in any sport will tell you that the pace of which you start the game is one of the most critical aspects of winning. Why do people not apply that to their lives? Monday morning is the most critical time to tell your body and mind how this week is going to go. It’s your first (and best) chance to put your stake in the ground and take control. The whole world changed for me when I decided to take control of this aspect of my life. Now, my Monday routine is untouchable and I leave Monday knowing that very, very few of my competitors started their week the way I did which puts me consistently ahead of the pack. Here is what it consists of:

·     Wake up early (5:30 is my number)

·     Monday morning workout (critical)

·     Weekly goal setting with accountability (what am I going to get done this week and why? Who is going to hold me accountable to getting them done?)

·     Yearly, quarterly, weekly goals review (Is my week's plan contributing to the ultimate goal?)

·     Monday Inspiration (I find a way to make sure I’m going into the week with some extra inspiration. This is different for everyone. For me its hype youtube videos)

Everyone is different so I’m not necessarily passionate about what your Monday morning should consist of. Figure out what works best for you. However, don’t let it consist of rolling out of bed and walking like a zombie into your week with zero preparation, zero discipline, and zero control.

3 – You’re Stuck In the Mud

I see and talk to so many people who wake up, go to work, have no clue why they are doing what they are doing, come home, pray for payday, and ultimately lack real purpose and happiness. Charles Bukowski, although brash, said it better than I could ever explain:

 “How in the hell could a man enjoy being awakened at 8:30 a.m. by an alarm clock, leap out of bed, dress, force-feed, shit, piss, brush teeth and hair, and fight traffic to get to a place where essentially you made lots of money for somebody else and were asked to be grateful for the opportunity to do so?”

I call this being stuck in the mud. The engine is running full speed, you want to go somewhere, but you’re just spinning and spinning in the same spot. Like many, I’m a believer that the key to being truly happy is to see PROGRESS in your life. But, most people rob themselves of any kind of progress (happiness) because they have no destination that they are chasing. They have no real goal or dream. You can’t have progress if you don’t know where you want to go. You can't really be happy if you don't have a goal that you are seeing daily and weekly progress towards achieving. If you’re sitting at work right now reading this, hating the fact that it’s Monday, I can almost guarantee you are in this category. Your Mondays can and will be the best days of your life if you are doing something you are so excited and passionate about that you spring out of bed and sprint to your office to take on a dream and goal that is so big it makes your stomach hurt!

It’s Monday folks – analyze and ask yourself how that really makes you feel. It’s okay to have made wrong decisions this past weekend, it’s okay to agree that you really didn’t wake up today and start it out right, and it’s okay if you know that you’re stuck in the mud in a career/job/company that you have no real purpose in. What’s not okay is if you can say the same things next week. 

Happy Monday – It’s go time!

Written by Josh Mastel, Founder, The Unentitled Project

www.theunentitledproject.com