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...
Dead Ends
No matter how talented, energetic, and committed we are, we hit dead ends.
We hit minor dead ends in a work session. We hit major dead ends on longer-term projects and life intentions.
That just seems to be how we're made and how things are.
But we don't like it. We wish it weren't so. It's discouraging.
And our catastrophic thinking kicks in, declaring we have a disaster on our hands. We're finished. We've failed.
As an alternative, I wonder if we can just acknowledge that dead ends happen.
Or consider the possibility that they are a healthy part of a greater process.
That the activity has simply gone deep for a bit…
But will inevitably reemerge, given time, patience, and gentle persistence.
When I hit a dead end, I've found three actions that support moving through to reemergence.
I sit quietly. Nothing fancy, just sitting in a room, eyes open or closed, not doing anything we typically think of as “meditation.” Just taking a pause and sitting for a while.
I talk to myself. Self-inquiry is one of our true superpowers. We can ask ourselves thoughtful questions and give thoughtful replies. I prefer to talk out loud, but if that's inappropriate for your setting or creates undo self-consciousness, there's the journaling variation. ;-)
I get active. Moving the body frees up and energizes the mind. A walk, some intentional movement, or a full-on exercise session are all helpful variations. As one of my mentors says, “Take the issue into your body and move it around.”
These actions are my main alternatives to the catastrophizing that only extends stuckness when the inevitable dead end appears.
And I've even come to appreciate that a dead end might be a beneficial harbinger, bearing the message of the need for some very reasonable self-care.
Together, let's end the fight to change…
Delmar
