If you are thrilled by the idea of the start of the academic year, immediately stop reading this text. Realizing that I would be in a routine until Christmas, just like the previous year, brought me no joy. I would say that the start of everyday obligations comes every year just as Monday comes every week. You turn on your alarm again, you need to go to school, you have to take your midterms, sometimes two, do an oral exam, or turn in that seminar. People say that Monday is the most boring day of the week, and it is said that on average, the first time people smile on a Monday is in the afternoon. In many Asian languages, the meaning of Monday literally means the day of the beginning, it is easy for our subconscious to do …, once we realize that we did not fulfil our New Year’s resolutions, for which we were sure that a year from now would change our life. We mainly leave changes for Monday, when we are sure that we will start something new. When the Monday comes, let’s remember that only six more days remain until the next one, and that the world won’t fall apart if we don’t fulfil these changes.
I love Monday, and the reason why I have a very good feeling about Monday, unlike a person who hates Mondays, is because I have dedicated myself to love everything in my life, and once you love what you do, even if it is studying or just simply doing you, you really start to love Monday. It is important to note that your main priority in life is not the only thing that you need to love in your life. You need to learn to love the moments and situations you are in, and after that, the rest comes easy.
First, you need to TAKE THE INITIATIVE. When you finally take the initiative and make a decision that your life is in your hands, you realize that happiness (and your love for Monday), depends only on your choices. Why can’t this Monday be the day in which you will start making positive changes that will improve the quality of your life and take you to a higher level? Let this Monday be a nice beginning to your week, academic year, success, and satisfaction. Taking responsibility is not easy. Life doesn’t just happen, we live it every day, we plan through it. We can influence our life, and our reality. There is a generally known saying “What you radiate, you attract”. I’m going to radiate happiness, and I’m going to attract happiness, this is simple. The truth is, things will not always go the way you want them to, and there is no need to hide from this, you need to face it, and that in time things will pass. With these thoughts I began to change my attitude towards life, and at the same time, towards myself. I started making more and more decisions that made me a more successful and better person.
We decide with what kind of glasses we view the world with, so why shouldn’t we look at the world with rose coloured glasses?
I believe that you also have stopped countless times in your life, and realized that you have left others accountable for your life, blaming others for what is happening to you, and with that, lost control. We will never move from the place we are in, nor will we ever make progress if we live blaming others for the situation that we are in. I have to admit, that I felt good when I blamed somebody else for everything, I never felt like I was responsible or guilty. But then you realize – Why should I spend my life accusing professors, parents, brothers, sisters and friends? I realized that I was happier when I taking the wheel, and from the results I have more faith in myself. Of course, there are bad decisions, but as the famous saying says, “You learn from your mistakes, and you succeed from your successes”.
I go to the gym every day and I have the best coach in the world, she’s called Nola. Outside the gym we are good friends, but as soon as we go through the doors for our sessions, she becomes the main culprit for all the pain I experience in those hours of working out. Then, one weekend I came across a situation where Nola could not come to training. Okay, no problem, I can train alone once, it isn’t quantum physics. It was not complicated to combine in my head my favourite exercises from my previous five trainings, so that I could have a solid enjoyable plan. However, it was really hard to do it. It was even harder when I didn’t have any one to blame for the weights. One of my biggest failures in life is that I don’t like to exercise. Actually, I have never liked it, up until now. My parents were always to blame because they made me find a hobby, and then it was the trainers, who made me sick. I could never agree to situations where I have to suffer. So in life, everyone but you is to blame, but in reality nobody is. I realized that I didn’t exercise for my trainer, but for myself. I learned a lesson and came to the conclusion: Patricia, it is for your own good. As my training progresses, I can do several things better than usual. I train now, and my attitude towards exercise has changed, leaving me with better results. As long as I was doing trainings because others were pushing me, running for mom, lifting weights for dad, I did not feel any pleasure. Exercise has a positive effect on your mood, that is just a small hint that you could start today, so that on Monday, your midterm result is better than usual 😀
I believe that you often find yourself in a situation where you want to do as much as possible, in the shortest possible of time, such as going to the conference held at college, or a wonderful presentation at Lisinski, but you simply lose yourself in your obligations. Slow down – that is what I told myself. Sit down. Breathe in. Write a schedule. Nothing is impossible. I realized that it would be much easier to arrange everything if I had it written down on paper, or on a phone, after all they are pretty smart today. It is important to take time for yourself with all your obligations. Allow yourself a day in the week to have a break, nothing terrible will happen but the pleasure will be great. Read a book, visit a museum, or even go to a spa, which doesn’t sound bad at all. I have made a list of places that I want to visit, a number of day trips that will fill up my time. After all, after a successful week, you have to give yourself a little credit don’t you?
Step by step. With a little effort and work on yourself, Monday will become a day you like and enjoy. Every day is a good day. On the day when rain comes, whilst you run to your tram, and a car speeds through a puddle to drench you in water from head to toe, it will be a good day, because you yourself have decided it is. Working on yourself is the most valuable thing you can do, because it builds great people, just like you are.
