Every year, July 4 reminds Americans not just of fireworks and barbecues, but of a powerful turning point in history—the moment a young nation found its voice!
Happy 4th of July! Wishing you time to reflect, to rest, and to enjoy the people around you. No matter where you are, may the spirit of liberty and unity reach you today. Hope your Independence Day sparkles as bright as the fireworks tonight!
If you aren’t jumping out of bed Monday morning, there is a problem.
You cannot go through life accepting that 5 out of every 7 days are going to be spent doing some undesirable to you.
If you are reading this right now in an environment that is not stimulating you, why are you even there to begin with? Because it’s easy? Because it’s comfortable? Because it pays well? If your answer is Yes, then you aren’t just doing a disservice to the company you’re working for (simply along for the ride), but you are doing a disservice to yourself.
And there is no clearer answer to that than how you feel first thing Monday morning.
If you feel any of the following, you need to question whether you’re in the right place or not.
This is a very clear indicator that sleep is not the problem.
The problem is you’re not emotionally invested in what you’re doing. Have you ever gone on a vacation or a trip where you’re doing stuff all day, going to bed late, and still waking up early with tons of energy because you’re excited to do more exploring?
People despise feeling overwhelmed, and yet so many fail to realize they do it to themselves.
Failing to prepare means you are preparing to fail.
Mondays are only overwhelming if you did not take Sunday to get all your ducks in a row. And the reason why most people choose not to do this is because whatever it is they’re doing isn’t enjoyable to them.
It’s easy to hate things other people hate too.
“Misery loves company.”
It’s impossible (or very, very difficult) to stay positive when your company culture is, “Hey Bob, how was your weekend?” / “Too short. Can’t believe it’s Monday. I hate Mondays.”
Obviously.
You are not going to wake up feeling excited to go to a job you don’t genuinely enjoy.
It’s astounding how many people choose things out of comfort, or fear of the unknown, and bite the bullet on years upon years of dissatisfaction.
Browse through Instagram on a Monday morning and you’ll see half a dozen coffee cup quote graphics either sharing the pains of waking up on a Monday, or the relentless ambition one must possess in order to crush Mondays goals.
What’s more important is, what do YOU want?
How do YOU want to be spending your Monday?
And then what can you do in order to bring that to fruition?
Most of the time, it’s the people around you that define how long you stay in any given situation.
Regardless of how you feel about the work, it can be very difficult to take satisfaction in doing something with people who don’t bring you positive energy — and vice versa.
When you “live for the weekend,” a Monday is the door shutting on your 48 hours of freedom — and that’s a pretty strong indicator you are living double lives.
Otherwise, you will never find your work all that fulfilling.
This speaks directly to our culture of chasing rewards as “means to an end.”
If you see every week as a sprint, and you endure it with the hopes that one day you’ll be “done” and you can finally “enjoy it and relax,” you’re doing it wrong. You’re missing the entire journey. You are aiming for something that doesn’t actually exist.
Fulfillment is found along the way, not in a treasure chest at the end of the rainbow.
Everybody’s working for the weekend, but how you spend your two days off may say something about how successful you are.
What you get up to doesn’t really matter, per se. If you prefer lounging around the house to spontaneous adventures, that’s great! You probably need that time to wind down.
But when it comes to weekends, the main thing that separates successful people from unsuccessful people is mindfulness.
Are you planning ahead and truly thinking about how to spend your free time?
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Here are 11 things that unsuccessful people tend to do over the weekend — and why you should avoid them:
Not every minute of every hour of your weekend needs to be planned out, but it’s good to have a general idea of what you’d like to do or get done — even if you’re just scheduling downtime.
That’ll allow you to protect your time, and maybe even schedule in some fun events.
It can be hard to make time for the ones you care about during the hectic week. Make up for that over the weekend.
Put away your phone. Shut off your work email — and make it clear to your coworkers that you won’t be responding. Don’t get addicted to technology.
Whether you’re unwinding alone or going out with friends, make sure to do something that makes you happy during your time off.
Maybe you drank too much on Friday and are recovering. Maybe you’re just super tired. Either way, this could really mess up your sleep cycle, and you probably need to fix that.
You pinch pennies all week, and then blow it all over the weekend.
Heck, you should treat yourself every once in a while. That being said, if you’re overspending on the weekends on frivolities that you don’t need, then it’s time to consider some cheap but fun options, like staycations or free local events.
During your busy week, it can be difficult to snag some time to just think about your life and goals. It’s important to check in with yourself every once in a while.
On Fridays, it’s a great idea to set out an agenda for the next Monday. Being prepared is great; being a workaholic is not. Kick back and relax a bit on Saturday and Sunday!