Not powerless over Monday morning

Monday morning is typically cast as the place joy goes to die. Most of us have five solid days of doing work we might not want to do, for people who might not like us, all so we can catch our breath for a couple days, then do it again. And again. And again. To infinity and beyond.

What if it were different than that?

What if instead of drudgery, the work you had to do this week was a chance to be creative? What if it was a chance to find a new way to unravel an old problem? What if we saw it as opportunity?

You don’t understand, you might say. I hate this job. My boss is up my ass half the time and customers are down my throat the other half. I’ll never need a colonoscopy or endoscopy as long as I live!

I’ve been both of those places, sometimes at the same time. I sat back and cursed the circumstance and grimly endured. In short, I did nothing to try to improve the situation.

If I had it to do over again, I’d try to find techniques to make things better. If I had a boss who didn’t seem to treat me fairly, I’d find books and podcasts about how to deal with difficult people. Or maybe I’d schedule some time and say “Hey, there seems to be tension. What can I do to make that better?”

If I had demanding customers, I’d ask others who’ve been that situation how they dealt with it. I’d try to find articles from people who were good at difficult customer service. I’d find people who might become allies and listen to them, starting to establish trust.

And if all that got to be too much, I’d start planning my exit.

We’re not powerless over Monday morning. Even in the worst situations, we have the ability to try new things, to work at making it better, or to leave. We don’t have to be a workweek doormat.

I wasted years of my career treating myself as a victim of circumstance, someone who tried hard, got frustrated, and finally gave up. I let it beat me.

Then I decided I couldn’t spend that much time that miserable and I tried different things. I talked to people. I read. I prayed. And then I was patient. I understood that others’ perceptions lagged my reality. I took shots that might have been appropriate even a couple years before, but weren’t any more.

I stopped being helpless. Then, over time, I started looking for reasons to be grateful. Because even in the worst situations, I had a lot to be grateful for.

This week might be difficult and there might be no way to avoid that. But next week might be a little better. And the week after might be a little better yet.

It’s hard work and it takes faith–sometimes it’ll seem like change is impossible. But it can be done.

I’ve done it and I’m grateful for the journey.