Making the Essential Enjoyable & Easy
Making Monday
I've heard it said that how we feel on Mondays is one of the clearest indicators of life satisfaction. Here is a quick thought on how to make Monday—and every day—work better...
AM-CHOOSE-WILL Framework
One of the most powerful language frameworks I've found for reclaiming agency and initiating action is AM-CHOOSE-WILL.
It quickly pulls together and aligns key levels of our internal organization through completing three simple sentences:
I am _________ .
So I choose _________ .
I will _________ .
The AM sentence engages our identity level, even if that identity currently feels aspirational. This is a deep hook, since one of our most powerful drives is to live consistently with how we identify.
The CHOOSE sentence engages our innate power of choice, as well as a chain of causation that is coherent with our stated identity. Because I am a particular identity, I inevitably choose the following. Dogs will bark and cats will meow simply because that's what they are.
The WILL sentence carries this alignment to its inescapable conclusion, engaging our innate capacity to initiate action anywhere, anytime. We can get specific about what we will do, adding particulars like place and time. The will seems to appreciate such specifics.
A couple examples:
• I am healthy and fit, so I choose to experience exertion in one of the elements of fitness every day. I will take a brisk walk and include some stair climbing at 5 pm today before leaving work.
• I am a writer. Therefore, I choose to generate and record words in some medium daily. I will draft a 500-word blog post before lunch today and will make a journal entry while drinking my tea before going to bed tonight.
I use this framework all the time. It has become a mindset and a way of approaching everything I do, rather than being just a tactic or tool. It brings clarity, energy, and quick momentum.
It also provides clarity about what NOT to do. If a behavioral impulse is inconsistent with one of my stated identities, this mindset supports breaking the linkage to action.
In this way, not doing things that don't serve my deep identity, values, and mission becomes much easier, too.
Together, let's end the fight to change…
Delmar
