How do you go from the Sunday Scaries, dreading the start of the work week ahead, to Motivated Mondays? That’s a good question for many of us. At dinner with good friends on a recent Sunday evening, one mentioned that he never got the Sunday Scaries feeling because he truly enjoyed his job and didn’t dread Mondays. I wouldn’t say his experience is rare or an anomaly because many people truly do enjoy their jobs and look forward to the work each week. But also true for many is that work is often less than enjoyable and more of something that has to be done as part of being a responsible adult. Over my working life, I’ve experienced jobs that fell in different places all along that spectrum. Some I was excited to do and instead of Sunday Scaries, I experienced an excitement or happy anticipation on Sunday evenings looking forward to the Monday start of the work week. And there were definitely those jobs that drained the life and motivation out of me, triggering the Sunday Scaries and dread of the Monday morning start to work. Songs have been written about the mixed emotions of Mondays, Manic Mondays by The Bangles and Monday, Monday by The Mama’s and The Papa’s.
So, what do you do to change the Sunday Scaries into Motivated Mondays when you are in a job that doesn’t itself alone generate that Sunday night excitement and positive anticipation for the Monday morning start to the work week? In past posts I’ve talked about shifting perspectives in challenging times, listening to music for inspiration, noticing and appreciating nature around us (notice the color purple in a field), and other recommendations. And while these are great tools to engage to improve our emotional state on Mondays, something else came to my attention on this particular Monday today, the people.
As I walked to my office this morning from Union Station on Capitol Hill on a crisp but comfortable cool sunny Autumn day in our nation’s capital, a young garage attendant at a nearby office building greeted me with a smile, saying “Good morning! Have a motivated Monday!” I returned his smile with my own genuine smile and offered him the same greeting in return. That simple exchange changed my whole demeanor for the Monday morning. I noticed others on the walk to the office and smiled and greeted them with a friendly “Good morning. Have a great day!” I noticed that for the majority they smiled in return and their demeanor appeared to slightly change. A simple gesture to connect with another person in a positive way made all the difference. And I found myself, having a motivated Monday even after my Sunday Scaries the night before, all because of engaging positively with other people. It reminded me of previous jobs that I stayed at for much longer than I probably should have, but it was because I truly enjoyed spending time with the people I worked with in my office. The people made all the difference then, and the people still make all the difference.
So, if you want to go from Sunday Scaries to Motivated Mondays, focus on the people and positive engagement with each other. That seems to be a good recipe or secret sauce for Motivated Mondays. As always, I encourage you to reflect on your stories and experiences with the Sunday Scaries and how you can turn them into Motivated Mondays. What works for you now? How do you experience Mondays at work? Any other advice or tips that work for you that you’d like to share with others in the comments?
Mondays don’t always have to be dreary or manic. We each have opportunities to shift our perspectives and engage with people positively to create Motivated Mondays that inspire and motivate us on our journey because as always Your Story Matters.
