Happy Monday!

It’s a new week, which means it’s time for your next Monday motivation newsletter.

Read on below for some steps to a happier Monday, a short story and a roundup of positive thoughts to get your week started.

Three Steps to a Happier Monday

Each newsletter starts with three prompts to inspire gratitude and simple intention setting. Take a moment and jot down answers to these three questions. To give an example, I share my answers below.  

Step 1: What are three things I appreciated from the weekend? 

Step 2: What is one thing I can be excited about today?

Step 3: What is my intention for this week? 

GRATITUDE: From my weekend, I’m thankful that I was able to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Chicago Saturday, have dinner with friends Sunday and take a long walk in the sunny, 50-degree weather on Sunday. 

TODAY: I got this book from the library yesterday and I am excited to start reading it today. Have heard great things! 

INTENTION: My intention this week is to do some journaling most mornings. 

Okay, your turn! And if you want to share your three steps, I am all ears. 🙂

Meaningful Musings: The Big Five Personality Traits

There’s a simple rule I abide by: if I hear of something three times (a book, a TV show, a restaurant, etc…), I take it as a sign to lean in. I put myself on the waitlist for the book at the library, check out the TV show, look up the restaurant, and so on.

So, when I heard about the “Big Five” personality traits in two different podcast episodes recently and mentioned in the book I’m reading, I took it as a sign to learn more. I’m intrigued by personality types, and I’ve actually heard of the Big Five before (from reading Dr. Meg Jay’s book The Defining Decade), but I had not really looked into the framework in depth or taken any kind of assessment related to it. I did last week and found it really interesting! I wanted to share this morning in case it appeals to you too and to offer an idea for a Monday activity. Here’s the quiz I took.

Developed by psychologists, the Big Five refers to “five factors that describe how people interact with the world.” The factors are Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness and Neuroticism (“OCEAN”):

• Openness: A person’s tendency to think in abstract, complex ways.
• Conscientiousness: A person’s ability to exercise self-discipline and control in order to pursue their goals.
• Extraversion: A person’s inclination to seek stimulation from the outside world, especially in the form of attention from other people.
• Agreeableness: A person’s tendency to put others’ needs ahead of their own, and to cooperate rather than compete with others.
• Neuroticism: A person’s tendency to experience negative emotions, including fear, sadness, anxiety, guilt, and shame. While everyone experiences these emotions from time to time, some people are more prone to them than others.
• (Source: Truity)

I also really like this low-high scale Dr. Jay includes in her book to describe the factors. By reading the scale and thinking about your own behavior, I think it’s easy to tell if you land on the high or low end or somewhere in the middle for each factor. And of course, as Dr. Jay writes, “there’s no right or wrong personality, there is just your personality and how it fits with the personalities of other people.”

Psychologists believe these five factors serve as the building blocks of personality, which is helpful, right? Personality frameworks are a great tool for self-knowledge. They help us better understand ourselves and how we respond to situations, and how others do too.

I also thought the framework was a good reminder of how our personalities are all multi-faceted. It reminds me of the 2015 Pixar movie Inside Out, which I thought was so well done. If you aren’t familiar, the animated movie is about an 11-year-old girl whose world turns upside down when her family moves across the country. Much of the film takes placed inside her head where five of her emotions – Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust – are embodied by characters who help her navigate the world. Sure, the movie is “for kids,” but when I watched it a few years ago I was impressed. I thought it masterfully depicted how contradictory emotions can work in concert. Similarly, this framework reminds me that personality is not one-dimensional. I like how the focus is on five different traits vs. one overarching description. All these traits are part of our personality, working together to make us whole.

When I took the quiz last week, I wasn’t shocked by my results, but some things did surprise me. I fall on the high-end for Conscientiousness and Extraversion, in the middle for Openness and Agreeableness, and on the low-end for Neuroticism. I’m excited to keep these factors in mind this week and see if they help me make sense of my reactions to certain things or the way in which I go about my day.

What do you think? Have you heard of the Big Five before and do you find it helpful? Or is there another personality framework you’re fond of?

Sometimes we just aren’t ready to jump into our Monday to-do list right away. In case you want some content to procrastinate with, here is a roundup of a few positive things on my radar:  

On My Monday Radar

• What’s your creative type? While we are on the topic of personality quizzes and types, I remembered my friend sent me this quiz a few years ago. The test assesses your basic habits and tendencies to help you better understand who you are as a creative. And it’s really fun and “creative” quiz to take! I’ve done it twice and both times got “The Maker,” which after reading the description, seems pretty accurate.
• I didn’t know a new series about Julia Child was coming to HBO Max! Streaming starting March 31, “Julia” is inspired by Julia Child’s extraordinary life and her long-running television series, “The French Chef.” Julie & Julia is one of my comfort movies, and while the two aren’t connected (so, no Meryl Streep as Julia or Stanley Tucci as Paul sadly), it appears the series picks up around the time the movie left off. Excited!
• I watched Being the Ricardos last weekend – have you seen it? It was good-not-great, but it’s available on Amazon Prime and as someone who didn’t know much about “I Love Lucy” or Lucille Ball, I found it interesting. The movie takes place over one production week of the show – from the Monday table read through Friday audience taping – when Lucille Ball (played by Nicole Kidman) and her husband Desi Arnaz face a series of personal and professional crises. (Fair warning, it is sad!)
• 8 Things To Do When the Sunday Scaries Set In. I know we’re already past Sunday, but bookmark this article for next week if the Sunday Scaries have a habit of putting a damper on the end of your weekend. I liked the suggestions, especially #1 (gamechanger), #6 (one of 22 in 2022 items!) and #7.
• 10 Favorite Trader Joe’s Products. Love reading through a Trader Joe’s roundup to get inspiration for my next grocery trip… don’t miss out the suggestions in the comments too!

That’s all for today! I hope you found something in today’s newsletter that sparked motivation, made you smile or inspired a positive Monday thought. Don’t underestimate the power of starting small… a fulfilling week starts with just one fulfilling day. You’ve got this! 

Let’s make it a great Monday!
Megan