Happy Mondays
Leading life and happiness coach
CAST your mind back to yesterday. When did it come on? Was it after lunch when relaxing with the Sunday papers it suddenly went dark?
Did it descend as the evening drew a curtain across the peace and happiness of your weekend? The gut-rolling dread of that primal “back to school” feeling as Monday beckons is a downer to our wellbeing which we bear with philosophical gloom.
Dreading work on Monday casts a pall over a weekend and can be a toxic blast to the psyche that sadly has become so familiar we see it as normal. But why tolerate it?
If you decide to look at this weekly dose of anxiety in the spirit of curiosity you will uncover a deep abyss of pain.
Our work on the very basic level is something we have to do to provide ourselves with life’s necessities. But ideally it should also engage us, play to our strengths and provide purpose and satisfaction to a major part of our adult lives.
When we feel trepidation it is because our values and our selves are out of alignment with what we are doing. Sure, sometimes we feel dread simply because our workload is hefty or because difficult tasks seem overwhelming.
This is in itself a tiresome prospect but it’s not near the real pain of apprehension we feel as we consider a week where we are diminished, overlooked, unrecognised and thinking that most of our waking life is spent coasting or living for the weekend. This is a dire waste of life.
I’ve been there, working in jobs so boring a Siberian hard labour camp would seem infinitely preferable. Straightening paper clips to keep sane in the double-glazing offices marooned in a soulless business park in Perivale; listening to my colleagues discuss the merits of a wooden clothes hanger versus a metal one and one boss so psychopathically mean he would spout “There’s no barbed wire around the door” as his take on a motivational pep talk.
So many of my clients say they “just drifted” into what they are doing and haven’t a clue how to get out of it nor what they want to replace it. Frustration and futility don’t look good on a CV.
This is a journey of self-discovery. Knowing what your strengths and passions are, what you stand for and the ingredients that make meaning and create excitement for you is a good starting point.
Try day or taster courses, take evening classes, create an online business, sell your stuff on eBay or create a portfolio of income streams which sate all your passions and interests.
You have to have courage to take risks and to trust that things take time and resilience to get there.
Having meaning and purpose is as much a human need as love, food and shelter yet we dismiss our heart’s calling. We believe some people are “lucky” to have landed while the rest of us come to the employment door with a powerless, empty begging bowl.
You have more to offer than you realise.
A last thought: if you dislike your job today, still do it well. Smile, engage and put your best effort into even the smallest task. Do it for your own integrity and self-esteem and excel on this day in your life you will never have again.