We love Fridays so much that there have even been restaurant chains and TV shows named after that ‘Friday Feeling’.
And we hate Mondays so much that people have written songs about them and hospitals say that Monday mornings are their worst time for stress-related emergency admissions, such as heart attacks.
[Here’s a helpful article on dealing with the Monday morning blues, in case you need it!]
What’s going on?
Why do we give so much power to a day of the week?
It’s curious how many stories we tell ourselves about Fridays and Mondays. And we believe the urban myth that we are supposed to hate the start of the traditional working week, whilst yearning for its end.
Surely that leads to us wishing away most of our time?
Isn’t life a bit short for that?
Those of you who are regular readers of this column will know that we tend to believe the stories we tell ourselves. So if we keep reinforcing the fact that Mondays are bad and Fridays are great, then that is what we will believe – and we will filter our experiences to notice only those events that support that belief.
I’m intrigued about whether we could turn things around, through a simple change in our attitude?
Nelson Mandela, when being released from his decades in prison, said that had he left prison still feeling anger and resentment, he would still have been a prisoner.
If he can work his way to a place of acceptance of losing 27 years of physical freedom, surely we can get our heads around letting go of this Monday / Friday thing?
I’m curious:
What’s going on with Fridays and Mondays for you? Why do you think the Western world has turned them into such a big deal?
Do you think we use it as some kind of ‘badge of honour’? Do we gain something from complaining about our working week? Is the problem real, or is it just a cultural habit?
I’d love to hear your views on all this – perhaps you could spare a moment to share them via the comments box, below?
In the meantime, here’s wishing you a very happy Friday!