“We’ve got the right music to get you through the day.” is often all i hear on the radio when driving to the gym. This is most days but is more frequently noted on Mondays.
Why is it, that as a society, we hate Mondays? What makes Monday different from every other day, other than it being the day after rest?
If you ask me, Monday is a mindset and as long as we keep feeding this narrative of ‘getting through the day’ and wanting it to be over, we will continue to miss the abundance of opportunities for growth and happiness that come with Mondays.
So why don’t we like Mondays? Lets break it down…
- Social media is swarming with painful Monday quotes constantly reinforcing how apparently awful Monday is. You only have to open the search page on the Instagram to see a few dozen quotes telling you ‘it’s going to be okay’.
- You might dislike your job. For many, Monday is the start of the week where you are thrust into doing a job you do not enjoy or have no passion for. If you aren’t waking up on a Monday morning excited for whats to come, this could be a sign that perhaps that job just isn’t for you and it’s time for a change. Easier said than done, we all have bills to pay, but it’s not Monday, it’s you.
- Living for the weekend. As I said, we all have bills to pay and that means, for most of us we have to get up and grind repetitively every day, every week. So when it comes to the weekend, we let loose, meet friends, go for a run, go shopping and everything else in between that you couldn’t (or didn’t) do in the week. This creates a major disparity between how you live your life in the week and how you live on the weekend.
I’m sure there are many more reasons to hate Mondays, but even with just those three what do you notice? Much of the loathing toward Mondays comes from you. Think about what you could achieve if you tweaked your mentality to see the best in Mondays.
Let’s Explore…
- Social media. Your search page is only feeding back to you what you put into it. If you’re seeing ‘I hate Monday’ posts, thats because you are feeding it with ‘I hate Monday’ engagement. Engage with content that encourages you to take Mondays by the you know what and thrive like you did on the weekend.
- It’s not so easy to just change jobs, I get that, you have responsibilities. But if changing your job is out of the question there are smaller, less drastic things you could try. For example, asking for a different role or enrolling on a course to enable you to branch out within the company you work for. If you can switch jobs though, go for it as soon as you can. Don’t wait.
- Do smaller versions of the things you like to do on weekends, during the week. If you meet with friends on the weekend for a long day session, perhaps try catching up over a walk on Monday, too. You see? Same, but different. By doing these smaller things, you get a similar sense of rest and have activities to look forward to in the week that make Mondays a little more fun and a little less morbid.
- Challenge your mindset. It’s not entirely your fault that you hate Mondays. Society has conditioned us to believe this from a young age. However, if you’re reading this, I’m going to assume you’re old enough to challenge your mind and develop your own feelings and opinions toward Mondays and what they mean to you.
Alternative Monday Views
- A new week. Monday marks the beginning of a new week (for most of us). This means that whatever happened in the previous week, whatever mistakes you made or chances you didn’t take have passed and you have a new shot at achieving goals and getting shit done.
- It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day. Generally speaking, to escape Mondays is really to be ungrateful for a new day you have to experience life and everything the world has to offer. Not everyone gets to see another Monday. Don’t take it for granted.
- Rested and recharged. Hopefully some of you use the weekend to relax and refuel. Taking some time out of your hectic weekly schedule to chill out and repair the mind and body should leave you feeling rejuvenated and ready to tackle the challenges that the week will bring, with strength and energy. If you utilised the weekend to its full advantage, Monday can technically be the most productive day of the week! Who would have thunk it?
- “I just don’t have the time.” If you stopped wallowing in self pity or bear fear every Monday you might actually realise that you do have time to do that thing you said you didn’t have time for. Imagine how much happier you would be if you didn’t waste a whole 24 hours every week crying about how it’s Monday again and just got on with it.
Change your Monday mindset to get the most out of your day!
Join the Movement
Written by: Natasha Bains
Beyond Better 
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