Maybe you’ve never even heard the term before. I’m not surprised. Truth be told, I made it up.
But it’s a real thing and it’s very common and you know exactly what I’m talking about.
“Monday Morning Mindset” is the deeply-held belief that new things deserve a grand starting time – a time that is somehow so powerful all on its own that the time alone ensures success.
And you know when that time is – Monday morning.
Monday morning is the time we recommit; the time we are going to take on the world.
It’s the time we are finally going to make great progress toward that goal we’ve set.
It’s the time we start our new diet and the time we mark on the calendar for our new exercise routine.
It’s the time when we are finally going to…
But guess what? It doesn’t work. (You knew that.)
And it never will. (You knew that, too.)
When we set an arbitrary time to start (or restart) toward our goal, we train ourselves that we are either working toward our goals OR are free to work away from our goals.
This second place is a dangerous place to be.
It frees us from an appropriate awareness of our actions and doesn’t help up connect the consequences to those actions.
It allows us to convince ourselves that there really isn’t that much of a difference between the two paths.
So, why bother?
That frees us to quit – sometimes as early as Monday afternoon.
And then we feel guilt and that doesn’t serve us at all. It makes it even harder to get back on track.
So, what can you do?
FIRST, recommit immediately. Don’t wait for Monday.
Stop convincing yourself that you’re either good or bad, on plan or off plan, committed or not, etc.
Recognize that you will make mistakes, sometimes even intentionally. We call those choices. You are human.
Realize that not every choice has to define you.
SECOND, forgive yourself and give yourself 3 hours. That’s it. In 3 hours, you are back to following your goals.
You set them for a reason. Honor them!