Hooray! It’s Monday!

It’s Monday morning and it suddenly occurred to me that if I seriously want to think out of my box, I’ll begin looking forward to Mondays.

We can be inspired by these daisies that know to bloom where they are planted.

Monday will offer whatever we choose to plant into the day.

Yeah, I know. It’s radical. There may be something amiss with believing this can actually work. It’s going to take some getting used to, but I think I can do this. Exactly what will this entail?

As you read this, put yourself in the place of “I” and imagine how this can unfold for you.

I will no longer spend Sunday evenings “dreading” returning to work the next day. I will enjoy my off hours in the “now moments”, savoring every last second. (Oh, by the way, if you work unusual hours or weeks, please adjust the timing and days to fit your life. It works for you, too.)

I won’t allow my mind to think of Sunday evenings as the end of freedom, but instead to consider every day as one filled with possibilities in this life I chose to live. Every day is a gift of twenty-four hours to spend on this jewel of Planet Earth where I chose to incarnate for the ultimate adventure. Life’s miracles can happen on Mondays, too.

I will look forward to discovering the miracle/surprise/gift that awaits me on each Monday. Maybe it’s something someone will do for me. Or something I will do for someone else. If I haven’t discovered a gift by the end of my Monday workday, I will create one. Who needs a kind word? Which co-worker needs an invite to lunch?  Who has been irritating me all day; can I find something about them to admire? I don’t have to tell them if that’s stretching me too far – but I can think about it and adjust my attitude, remembering that what we resist will persist and what we embrace will erase.

On Sunday evening I will lay out clothes for tomorrow, choosing those that help me feel light and expanded. Maybe red to give me energy? Or black to feel sophisticated. Or yellow to bring sunshine into the day. Or brown to feel grounded and calm. Something foxy to make me feel young or something soft to feel embraced. I will choose something I would choose on a happy day, because that is what I intend to create.

I will commit to getting up Monday morning with a cheerful attitude regardless of how I actually feel.

I will bring light into Monday for everyone around me. I won’t follow everyone else’s mood; I will create my own mood and let them follow me. I will be the one to walk in the door, say hello and mean it, smile, listen – really listen – when someone tells me about their weekend. I’ll be okay with the fact that most people think about themselves, and no one remembers to ask me about my weekend. I am not in my workplace to talk about myself, but to empower others to feel valued. I am a light and one of the reasons I am here is to shine, especially in situations where no one else can find the light.

I will intend Monday to be the highlight of my week. Because I make it joyful, empowering, and useful, it becomes that. In time, I will anticipate Mondays with heady delight, pushing through my weekend days because I can’t wait for Monday to arrive! Okay - this may be stretching it a bit - but you get my point.

Warning!

Once you decide to do this, Monday may want to push all your buttons.

Maybe your boss will prove once and for all to be a prime candidate for “Most Obnoxious Boss” of the year. Maybe you are the boss and will be confronted with unexpected production or personnel issues. Perhaps that co-worker who triggers your anger management issues finds a new way to get under your skin, or the office drama queen aims for an Oscar. Never mind. That’s right – Never give it Mind. Stick with your plan. Divine law guarantees that in the long run, over time, your new intention will manifest.

There is no universal law, virtue, sage quote, or truth principle that says, “The first day ye returneth to thy workplace, thou shalt feel miserable, defeated, and depressed.” Nor one that states, “Monday is an abomination, a day to dread, a day to hurry through in order to reach Tuesday more quickly.” Or “The wise one spendeth one’s day off yearning to experience the freedom it offers, yet suffereth from endless torment of the inevitable return to work on Monday.”

There are, instead, endless wise suggestions that “We are what we think about all day long.” And “Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be.” And “Some cause happiness wherever they go; others cause happiness when they go.”  And “To find happiness in our work, we must carry it in ourselves.” And “In order to receive something, first you must give it, thus creating the vibration which will attract it to you.”  And my favorite is, “It is easier to act yourself into a new way of thinking than to think yourself into a new way of acting.”

So, here’s to our Mondays! May you bring your light into Monday and every day, and in doing so, create a life well lived.

PS If you are saying, “sounds good, Ellie, but you don’t know how much I detest my work”, then why are you there? If you have to be there, accept it and make the best of it until you can make the necessary changes. Sometimes when you change your approach to your work, your workplace improves. Funny how that works…