Monday morning. The alarm goes off to signal the beginning of the working week. As a lover of sleep my first alarm goes off ten minutes before I intend to get up and in this time I take time to come round and to ponder the week ahead. Almost without exception, I work from home on Mondays, and enjoy my full schedule of coaching by telephone. So, as much as I love my sleep, I come round to the prospect of a day I am confident I will enjoy.
Over the years, my Monday morning story has been a gauge of the good – or otherwise – health of my working life. Sometimes, the sinking of my heart as I wake signals a week to which I do not look forward. Too many Mondays like this and I know it’s time to take stock and ask: what needs to change? Sometimes, it has been my understanding that the time has come to change jobs. Sometimes, I have seen the need for me to change in order that I might open my heart and mind to a greater measure of fulfilment in my work.
The moment of waking on a Monday morning is also a good time to catch my hidden and limiting beliefs. Do I believe I am deserving of a job I love or do I see it as the fate of man (or of this woman) to experience work as toil, a means to an end? Do I see myself as the victim or the creator of my working life? Do I believe I can take action towards my dreams or do I believe they will always be just out of reach and beyond arms’ length? Do I believe I have what it takes to succeed or do I believe that I shall be forever wanting? Do I see work as struggle or do I enjoy work as a sense of flow, of synchronicity, an unfolding adventure?
Whatever my early Monday morning thoughts, they are a powerful indicator of the experience that lies ahead, since – unless I catch them with my awareness and make changes to them immediately, or over time – they dictate the nature of my experience during the week ahead. More than that, they send signals to others who, in turn, are influenced by my thoughts.
I wonder, at this stage in your life, what is your Monday morning story?