Six Practical Steps That Will Make You Scream "Thank God It's Monday!"

 

Oh yes! Thank God it’s Monday! I’m almost certain that is not the mantra emanating from most people because recent survey reveals that about 87% of Nigerians hold jobs that they do not like, and work for companies they care little about.

 

It is funny, but psychologists and counsellors have found out that Monday is the most important day in the week because it sets the tone (mind-set and concretised plans) for the rest of the week. Chances are that if you started your Monday on a rocky, shaky, and grouchy ground, you will have messed up the possibility for a productive and fulfilling week ahead.

 

My friend, you see, time is worth more than money – it is actually your life broken down into tiny bits; so, until that dream job comes and you finally work in an organisation that you are overtly enthused about, let’s not become a cry-baby and waste valuable time (life) doing our jobs with sadness, end-to-end naggings, and getting depressed. Come-on, it’s time to get some motivation while we bridge the gap between our dream and our Job – a dream job!

 

Chances are that if you cultivate the right attitude and frame of mind while working a not-so-exciting job, you will in a short time land that job you have always wanted. If you want your dreams to come through, then you’ve got to wake up!

 

Here are my top six (6) tips (though not exhaustive) on how to stay motivated throughout the week:

 

 

Truth be told, you can hardly get something good if you don’t expect it to come. Life is not a lottery; even in a lottery, participants expect to win even by the slightest flicker of luck and maybe serendipity.

 

Life sometimes have a funny sense of humour: Haven’t you noticed that it is mostly bad things that usually happens when we do not expect it – more or less like weeds grow unexpectedly on a fertile land. However to cultivate good, we need to consciously expect it to happen. As you move out today, create a mental image of good things you expect to happen to you today and for the rest of the week. If possible have a list. The shortest pen is longer than the longest memory.

 

 

Some people are so negative that if they entered a dark room, they would immediately develop; that is how negative they are. One of the fastest ways to be happy is to surround yourself with happy people. Surround yourself with passionate and enthusiastic people, and you will receive the baptism of passion; surround yourself with high-fliers and achievers, and you will soar higher than you expect. But a company of fools will be destroyed. No matter the amount of success you have achieved, if you constantly surround yourself with four failures (in a manner of speaking though), it is only a matter of time – you will become number five.

 

 

Often times, it is very easy to get distracted by the ‘busyness’ of life and the loud and random noise in our hustled-environment, that we suffocated the yearnings and voice of our inner man. Regardless of the job you currently have – whether you’re the Managing Director or the doorman, General Manager or the Gate Man, always see the big picture. Keep that dream alive in your mind; never trade it for anything because in due season it will come alive. There’s a saying that ‘whatever you vividly imagine, honestly desire, sincerely believe, and enthusiastically act on must inevitably come to pass’.

 

 

Nature by all standards abhors a vacuum. What that means is simple – the moment you do not consciously create a plan for your life, nature (life) will automatically give you one; most times what it gives is not always pleasant. The best way to predict the future is to create it. However, you cannot predict what you have not planned. There is an unseen power that comes to play when pen meets with paper. Write out your plans and break them down into deliverables (goals).

 

 

The best way to translate your dreams and aspirations from thin paper to thick action is simply by TAKING ACTION. All men dream but not equally; some dream at night in the dusty recesses of their minds only to find that it was only a dream. But some men dream during the day, these are the dangerous ones; for they dream with their eyes wide-open, and they can make their dreams come through.

 

I do not care how magnificent and immaculate your plans are, if you do not take steps to walk your talk, then you will become like museum pieces under glass – stale, safe, easy to understand, and predictable. Get out of your comfort zone of plans and talks and begin to walk in the direction of your dreams today because life is not about standing still and becoming safe. Also, a comfort zone is not necessarily a comfortable situation, but an uncomfortable one that we have learnt to adapt to over time. Register for that course today, start the very first page of that book, hit the recording studio today, open an account to start saving for your proposed business, talk, walk, and look smart today.

 

I once heard the lamentation of a man who said ‘spring time is past, summer is gone, and winter is here; but the song I meant to sing remain unsung; the books I meant to write remain unwritten. For I have spent my best hours stringing and unstringing my instrument; writing, rewriting and cancelling my articles. I was waiting for the right season, just the perfect time – but it never came’.

 

 

Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent alone cannot; the world is full of unsuccessful people with great talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education alone will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Discipline and persistence alone are omnipotent.

 

Choose today to find an area of interest, and decide to be consistent in its development – whether it is your talent, a project, or a course.

 

I hope you will find this article useful motivation to tune, retune, and fine-tune your week and place in on a cruise control. Don’t wait until tomorrow…do it now. The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago, the next best time is TODAY. Thank God it’s Monday! Enjoy your week.

 

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Culled from The Nation