Co-Founders' Corner: In Defense of Mondays

May 4, 2017

Welcome to the first in our series called Co-Founders' Corner! These are posts by either of our two Here for the Girls Co-Founders, Rene Bowditch or Mary Beth Gibson. Enjoy these (sometimes funny, sometimes serious, always interesting) reflections on life!

Poor Monday. It has a real image problem. Most everybody loves Saturday. It’s the creamy filling in the Oreo cookie that is the weekend - sandwiched right in between the chocolate-ly goodness of Friday, the official launch of the weekend, and Sunday, the traditional day of rest and renewal. Thursday is pretty popular too as the prelude to the weekend. Wednesday’s claim to fame is as Hump Day gains it points and even the nondescript Tuesday has status as being the day after Monday, when one can breathe easy again. Poor maligned Monday.

Let me give you a few examples of just how bad it is. When I googled sayings for Monday, here are some of the ones I found:

If Monday had a face, I would punch it.

Go home Monday. No one likes you.

If each day is a gift, I would like to know where to return Mondays.

There should be a holiday for all the brave people who show up to work on Mondays.

Monday. How do I block you in real life?

Keep calm and pretend it’s not Monday.

Shortest horror story in history. Tomorrow is Monday.

Dear Monday. I think you should take a vacation. Seriously, no one will miss you.

I also unexpectedly discovered an interesting correlation between Mondays and coffee.

Too much Monday. Not enough coffee.

May your coffee be strong and your Monday be short.

Coffee. Because Monday happens every week.

Monday. I don’t think there will be enough coffee or enough middle fingers for today.

Apparently, if you don’t show up to Monday armed with massive quantities of coffee, you are doomed.

So who is responsible for this sad state of affairs? Well if we are going to assign blame, I guess we have to go back about 4,000 years. It was the Babylonians. They are the ones who decided to divide the 29 day lunar cycle into smaller periods of time and picked seven because it had mystical significance. And then beyond the Babylonians, we can attribute it to whoever decided in more modern times that Monday would be the official start of the work week and school week.

Because when you come right down to it, I believe the reason most people who resent Monday feel that way because it means they have to go back to either work or school. So the problem isn’t really Monday!! The problem isn’t even our attitude about Monday. The problem is we may not be content with what we have to do on Mondays – whatever our responsibilities are – and Monday is a reminder that we have to start it all over again until our next break from it. So here’s the solution. It is simple but may not easy.

We have two options:

We can change our responsibilities, or we can change our attitude.

I used to be one of the Monday moaners. And then I faced a serious health crisis that compelled me to reevaluate my life, my priorities, my values and also how I was spending my time versus how I wanted to be spending my time. That seismic shift resulted in a new attitude about many things including Mondays. Ultimately, here is what I believe is the most significant fact about Mondays:  They represent 1/7 of your life. So do you really want to spend your time dreading, complaining about, and wishing away 1/7 of your life? I know I don’t. So I embrace Monday as I do every other day of the week – with gratitude and the knowledge that I own it, and I am going to make it what I want it to be. Mondays are a gift I have no desire to return.

So I suggest we reconsider Mondays, and to help us, here are a few of the very few positive sayings I found in my Google search about Mondays.

Monday. A fresh start. Embrace it.

Monday, Funday. Live, Laugh, Love.

Monday is a new start of your life, new beginning, new perspective. Make today count.

Monday, just another day to be amazing.

Do what you love, and you will never dread Monday.

And of course, we can’t forget the coffee. It’s Monday. Grab some coffee and be awesome.

And if you are still not convinced, I’ll share this little-known fact with you: Monday is the only day of the week that is an anagram of a single word. And that word? It’s dynamo. So I leave you with this thought. When Monday rolls around again, and if you are lucky, it will continue to do so over and over and over again, just use it as a reminder that Monday is a special day for you to shine as the dynamo you are! And the coffee? It’s optional.

Mary Beth Gibson

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