It’s Monday. Does it ever feel like Monday comes knocking with all the enthusiasm as a snooze button on an alarm clock?
Mondays have, for a while, gotten a bad rap.
Ever heard the phrase, “It’s a Monday.”
A day when it seems nothing goes right. You forget the necessary passwords. Realize you were supposed to do something that you completely forgot, and now it’s too late. You spill your coffee all over yourself as you are walking out the door. The list goes on.
When those things happen, it’s so easy to get into a pattern of negative thinking. Especially when it seems like everything is going wrong.
As we start this week, what if we intentionally check ourselves with our negative thoughts and instead turn them into positive ones?
Example.
Thursday and Friday, Dawn and I have training that we “must” attend. It’s mandatory. I’m not sure if I balk at this thing because my temperament does not like “mandatory” things or if I simply just don’t want to go. Regardless, I haven’t had the best mindset around it. As I was planning my week, that training impacted several of my days. I was a little grumpy.
However, you can’t preach about negativity with integrity, know that you are being negative, and not do something about it. So I decided to reframe my perspective.
“It will be nice to get out of the office and hear what some experts are saying about this subject area.”
“Once I complete this, I don’t have to worry about it anymore for a few years because it’s been looming in the back of my mind for some time now.”
“It will be nice to spend time with Dawn out of the office.”
See – aren’t those better thoughts than being grumpy about it?
We may not be able to control the thoughts that come into our minds, but we can control what we do with them.
Today, this Monday . . . what are your original thoughts for the day?
Are you content with what is before you, or do you find yourself in a negative spiral?
Proverbs 4:23: “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
Guard your heart against negativity. It will change everything!
Grace and Peace,
Andrea
Steve Peters, “The Chimp Paradox: The Mind Management Programme to Help You Achieve Success, Confidence, and Happiness” (London: Vermilion, 2012).