Mondays Can Kiss My . . .

For as long as I can remember, I have been trying to change my perception of Monday.  It never fails . . . Friday night relief, Saturday relax, Sunday peace . . . turned anxiety.  What is that?  It’s surely no way to live.  And then I see stuff like this posted and am reminded that so many of us live our lives that way. 

Somewhere along the lines we fell into this trap and believed that “doing the right thing” essentially meant doing “the wrong thing.”  We always hear that life’s not easy and it takes hard work and we have to suffer to enjoy the fruits of our labor.  Well, I’m here to tell myself I think that’s a load of BS.

When Loveboy first screamed “Everybody’s Working for the Weekend” I took a step back and said, “Damn, they are right!”  I didn’t understand it then, and I certainly don’t understand it now.  But we get trapped.  We confuse life with work.  We focus on getting more stuff so life will be easier, but that stuff often makes everything more complicated.

How will I buy this, or that, or buy my dream house?

In 2005 I bought a BMW and have more or less regretted it ever since.  I didn’t buy it for me, I bought it because I thought my dad would think I was a big shot.  We often talked about my future “success” and for some reason that car entered the conversation a lot.  I literally walked into the dealership one day and made impulse buy at BMW.

What did it do for me?

Well, it tied up my finances for the next 6 years.  I was constantly worried about scratches, dents and repairs.  And, a good portion of the time, it has made me feel like a prick.  But now I’m at a point where I have a dependable car and no payment.  For some reason I feel better about driving it now.

It has taken me many years, but I’m finally getting a grip on “living within my means.” For years I lived for the weekend and it did nothing but overrun my life with financial and emotional pressure.  Dying five days to live two makes no sense.

I am nowhere near cured of this generationally transmitted disease, but I am more aware.  More aware of what’s important, and certainly more aware of what doesn’t matter.  I have spent many years accumulating stuff I don’t need, pouring my energy into empty pursuits, and neglecting my true passions.  My perspective is changing and it starts with paying attention to what’s really important.

I have blindly raced after everything society threw in my face, and worse, instigated those desires in others by selling fear, success and self-confidence in a bottle.  It doesn’t happen that way.

There is nothing more potent than a gut feeling.  For years I have ignored mine, but it has never been wrong.  It steers me toward truth, and now, with the help of training and positive influence, I am trusting those instincts.  I am once again, believing that Monday should be just like Saturday.