It's Monday morning again. I hate Mondays. Like so many of us, I have kind of always hated Mondays. I don't have any specific dread of them, it's just that it's back to work, and the weekend must come to an end, so Monday is always a little sad.
There are some people who do not agree, and believe that Mondays are fascinating things, to be longed for and chased after as though they were a golden retriever and Mondays were the brand new favorite toy. I rather think that Mondays are like a George R.R. Martin novel, in which you better not like it, because death and dismemberment will surely follow close upon the heels of you liking it. Yes, Monday is coming.
But I had a thought this weekend, and it seemed rather appropriate for this week. Indeed, as it is the new year, perhaps it's time to look at things in a new way, to take a different standpoint on things. Particularly, on Mondays. What if, instead of dreading the day, or letting the gloom of the mundane (hmmm...mundane, Monday....) get to me, I did something a little different, and met Monday as a challenge?
In this, it's not much different than climbing hills on a bike. What? If you've ever read this blog, you know I like to bike, so this reference should come as no surprise. But seriously - hill climbing. When you see a hill off in the distance, you can approach it one of two ways: with a sense of dread, or with a sense of challenge. When you approach a hill with a sense of dread, the hill is already too steep to climb. You're so focused on the pain that you do not see the easy line up the road, you miss the cadence, and every single turn of the crank becomes an agonizing chore. All that is in your mind is how hard it is, and that only makes the hill harder to ride.
When, you approach the hill with the thought that you will get up it, get over it, and move on to better things, There is room to focus on your cadence, to see where the easy line of ascent is on the road, and to power through effectively. It's not to say that the climb doesn't hurt, and that it's easy or fast - merely that those thoughts do not occupy your mind. In a way, it's very much a "mind-over-matter" scenario. The "can-do" attitude is important for climbing.
It's important for Mondays, too. So, starting today, I'm not going to dread Mondays. I'm going to attack Mondays. I'm going to meet them head-on, with a bull-rush if necessary. I see that hill ahead of me, and I will prepare my mind to conquer it, and it will be conquered. It begins with the simple things. Shirt and tie. Getting things moving early. Jumping on Monday like it's the Alpe d'Huez and I can take the yellow jersey. I own you, Monday!!
