Every Monday there is a collective rude awakening, as a large number of people begin their week, feeling less than jazzed to get back to work. Some experience bouts of “re-entry anxiety” more severely than others and call out sick, unable to face the day. Others grumble to themselves, Here we go again. Is it Friday yet? While others, still, do their best to shake of the negative thoughts of what a new work week will hold, fending off the dull tug of dread, and focus on anything positive.
I have to say, I still experience slight apprehension on Mondays. I admit this with some discomfort, after all I’ve managed to feel good about my life much of the time, and I help people navigate their jobs and conditions at work so they can make peace with it and even find joy there. This is what I do as a life coach. It’s my calling. So why am I not completely cured yet?
In part, I think, it’s because I spend all weekend long doing those things that I enjoy doing or that I want to do. While I might rather be watching a movie, or reading a book, instead of working my business in my spare time, I find peace with it, get into the zone, and find joy there. Then, on Monday, I’ve got to put the brakes on what I’ve passionately thrown myself into and shift gears. I’ve got to focus on something else that has much less clarity to me on how it serves my larger purpose in life.
I linger in bed, a little too long, pondering the things I might face that could disrupt my serenity and calm. Inevitably, after making it into the office and grounding myself with a soothing spot of tea, I do find my purpose that day, at work. Sometimes it is directly related to my job, like when I learned how a project I worked on really made a difference in one of our customer’s lives. But sometimes this revelation comes in the form of casual interactions with my coworkers, like the time I shared my recipe for a weight friendly casserole I’d brought for lunch that day. Both types of situations, work-related and non, give me an experience that sets my mind right and moves me into a place of productivity, motivation, and inspiration.
Maybe there will come a time when I can skip the preliminary foot dragging on Monday mornings, until then, I’ll lean on the knowledge that I can find opportunity and purpose anywhere, doing anything, as long as I stay positive enough to be aware of it.
Photo Credit: Les Chatfield