Field Notes: On Changing Your Mind for the Daily Grind

“You don’t hate Mondays. You hate your job.” I can’t claim the phrase–I read it on Instagram–but it did get me thinking. Whether we’re business owners, employees, managers, grad students, or self-employed, the question comes up [at least it does for me]: “What the fuck am I doing this for?” Hopefully, the answer is one of the following: A) “Because I love this, it just sucks right now,” B) “Because I believe in what I am doing and it will get better,” C) “This is a stepping stone to get me to a place where I would rather be,” or even D) “I hate the job, but I absolutely love ___________ [my co-workers, my work environment, my salary, making my own hours, etc].”

So, today as I made good on my self-made promise to start each morning with a run, a green drink, some meditation, and a fair amount of time writing down what I am grateful for, I had a whole slew of thoughts come up that spanned the spectrum above. I’m grateful for the beautiful, talented friends that I get to work with [in an office that I love]. I’m excited for a slower pace in the future. I’m anticipating some magic future where bills, stress, and worry are for the birds [can you imagine?]. But the day-to-day can be rough. Regardless of what you do when you punch in, it’s imperative that you do whatever you can to be happy while you are doing it. Commit to doing what makes you happy in every aspect of your lives…even especially when you’re on the clock. I figured I would clue you into a few of my early morning epiphanies. Do with this list as you will–all I know is that it’s helping me on my journey to workday bliss.

1) Don’t Jekyll & Hyde it. Happiness is a choice you make. Take that damn chipper attitude to the office each morning. Healthy mindsets and habits at home should extend to the workplace, too.

2) Celebrate good times. Obviously, you’re hoping for the fun, success, and ease that the future will bring…it’s good stuff to think about. But are you having fun and celebrating current successes? What are your systems for remembering the shit that’s actually going swimmingly?

3) You are St. John’s Wort. Be the office mood enhancer. If you’re not having fun, figure out something you can do to bring yourself back up. Or to bring someone else up. [Spoiler: bringing them up will do the same for you].

4) Pull it together. You’re the only one that gets to decide whether or not to be happy. There’s a lot of bullshit to deal with on any given day. Don’t give the bullshit the power.