“The truth is that there is no actual stress or anxiety in the world; it’s your thoughts that create these false beliefs. You can’t package stress, touch it, or see it. There are only people engaged in stressful thinking.” – Wayne Dyer
SUNDAY NIGHT BLUES
You know you’ve felt it. That overwhelming feeling of gloom that begins on Sunday somewhere between 4-7pm as the weekend winds down. Turns out, you are not alone.
In 2015 Monster ran a poll that showed 76% of US respondents rated their Sunday night blues as “very bad”. The article continues, “Despite positive economic news, there has been no significant change in either the US or the rest of the world for those experiencing the Sunday night blues since 2013, when 73% of US respondents had “really bad” Sunday night blues and 47% from the rest of the world felt that way at the time.”
So what’s a person to do? I have three tips that will help…promise.
FRIDAY DOWNLOAD
Before leaving work on Friday, first, organize your desk or workspace. Clutter causes stress both on your desk and in life. Next, start a download of everything you need to accomplish for the next week and, most importantly, write it down.
This is the important bit.
Your brain will stop worrying about all the things on your list, if you have a physical list to fall back on. It’s why calendars and to-do lists are so important to quieting down your mind.
Its true! See: The Amazing Side Benefits of Writing a Daily To Do List
MEDITATION
Yes. I believe meditation to be a panacea of all things great for the mind.
Spiritual teachers for millennia have recommended a meditation practice to aid in curing everything from insomnia and depression to addiction and weight loss.
This article from the Eco Institute sums it up perfectly.
“Freshly minted meditators often report drastic anxiety relief as the very first tangible benefit, the first step on a never-ending staircase of incredible transformations.
The first stop on the mindful “highway to happiness” will quickly dump your truck-load of anxiety, no matter how full.”
START SMALL
I know, I know. You’re picturing having to sit criss cross apple sauce in an incense filled, specially constructed, quiet room dedicated to meditation. Adorned with pictures of your Guru, you drift off into your subconscious and find your happy place.
It’s not like that. You can start small.
5 minutes Sunday evening. And 5 minutes Monday morning. That’s it.
Sunset and sunrise is best, but really, any time works. If you’re curious what times are best, and why, check out this article from Yoga In Daily Life
If you say you don’t have 5 minutes to quiet your mind, you need it more than you think.
It really doesn’t have to be a special place. Don’t overcomplicate things. Or god forbid add even more anxiety worrying about the specifics of your meditation practice! Just a comfortable chair, inside or out, your home or off site, it doesn’t matter.
What matters is that you do it. Period.
And really, it doesn’t even have to be quiet. You may know if you read Meditating in the Cemetery that, most mornings, this is where I meditate. Today was no different.
That is, other than the side of an industrial pile driver in the distance helping to construction one of Charlottes many new high rises.
TINK. TINK. TINK. TINK. Every 2 seconds. As loud as you can imagine. Like clockwork.
Rather than being discouraged, I used the chatter to go inward. With each drop of the hammer, I was reminded to banish whatever thought may have just entered my mind…they really do come and go that fast if you’re paying attention…and return to my breath.
It’s really that easy.
Try it. What do you have to lose other than a few moments of peace and quiet?
What do you do to help cure the Sunday blues?