by Kerry Taylor
Why is it that around 8pm on a Sunday night, grumblings start to emerge of complaints that tomorrow is a Monday? And then, once Monday hits, all there is are complaints and whining going on that it’s Monday. A friend of mine would call all of those individuals a bunch of “Crabby Patty’s." Some of you may be saying, “Well Kerry, it’s the beginning of the week and I have to go to work.” And I would say to you, “So?” We need to correct our mindset and look at Monday as being something different. We need to look at Mondays as another opportunity, another chance, a fresh start or another step forward in the right direction. I don’t see that as being so difficult. But, what is hard to change is the mindset. You may say, “well how do I get into the right mindset so I don’t have the Monday blues?” Lucky you, I will give you some direction. Try and put some of these in action and you may find that Mondays are not as bad as we all make them out to be.
First, we have to look at what our habits are Sunday night and Monday morning. Do you stay up late to catch a sporting event? Do you start to wind yourself down early? Do you prep yourself to “win” the next day? In the morning, do you find yourself always rushing to get somewhere? Do you have breakfast? Is your commute to work or your first destination a long one? Who do you surround yourself by? Are the people around you a bunch of Crabby Patty’s? There are a ton more questions I could ask, but these are just some examples. I wonder how you may answer some of these questions. If some of these are a yes, GREAT! They are fixable. These factors could easily affect your mindset and if it has been going on for a long time, then it is a habit that we have to change! My Mentor would say, “you can have a growth mindset or a fixed mindset.” I would say the crabby patty’s have a fixed mindset. Here is the difference.
A fixed mindset is that you believe that there is nothing you can do about the situation you are in. It’s Monday, today is going to stink because I can’t do what I did over the weekend. I can’t have “fun." A growth mindset would believe if it is to be, then it is up to me. It’s Monday, today is going to be a great day because I can make today what I want it to be. The growth mindset is more along the lines of “being comfortable with being uncomfortable." Okay, I went off track there for a bit, back to fixing some of the crabbiness.
Step 1- Identify and refocus
You have to identify that you are being negative about the upcoming situation. When you are negative, there is a level of reality that you will make come about. Instead of the negative thoughts, change them into more of a positive thought. For example, “I have to give a huge presentation tomorrow, but why would any of these people want to listen to me? I am just wasting my time.” Instead flip it, “I have to give a presentation tomorrow, and I will do my best. I can’t wait to be finished so I can get some feedback to get better at this for the next time I step on stage.”
Step 2- Daily attitude adjusters
You may have heard me say many times, “get that mind right." What things get your mind to be clear and ready to make great things happen? Is it music? Motivational talks? Meditation? Working out? Whatever it is, start to do it more often. Add it to the beginning of your day so you can kick the rest of the day's a$$ and come out on top! For me, it’s music and motivational talks. I MUST have the proper music on for me to get my mind right and ready to go. If I don’t do that, then I go through the day like a slug. Some of you may be like, "sure Kerry." Well, here is proof, here is my get your mind right playlist that I listen to everyday when I get in my car.
Step 3- Stay consistent
For anything to really happen the way we want it to, we must stay consistent at our efforts. Once we stop putting in the work, everything falls apart and you’re back at square one all over again. You always want to do something to take a step forward every day. No matter how big or small the step is, progress to be greater than you were the day before.
These are not earth shattering steps or ideas, so just put them into play. Or have your buddy crabby patty put them into play. Until next time guys, continue to go for greatness. Turn it up that extra degree in everything you do!
