Monday, 1/20/20: Talking about Joe Burrow, Michelle Obama and Monica Aldama

Happy Monday!

It’s another 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 am thankful for not having to commute to work in the weekend’s cold weather, the fun Sunday night I had with friends from work and the 49ers win over the Packers last night, which gave me bragging rights in a very important bet I made and won. 🙂

TODAY: I am most excited to be off work! Looking forward to a “Sunday” type of day this Monday. 

INTENTION: My intention for this week is to stay calm when handling whatever may pop up this week at work.  Okay, your turn! And if you want to share your three steps, I am all ears. 

Lesson of the Week: Embracing the Swerve

What could the College Football Playoff national championship game, a Netflix documentary and Michelle Obama all have in common? Read on and find out…

Last week, I watched Joe Burrow throw five touchdowns and set a record for passing yards, bringing LSU its first national title since 2007. Joe’s accomplishments of leading his team to win a national title and being awarded the Heisman Trophy are definitely impressive. But you know what’s more impressive? His persistence as he faced rejection after rejection from recruiters, as he was told he wasn’t good enough to play at Nebraska (his No. 1 pick) and as he patiently waited a turn (that would never come) at Ohio State.

I also finally finished Becoming and reflected on Michelle Obama’s path of going to college and law school and eventually becoming a lawyer at a prominent firm in downtown Chicago. When she surprisingly found herself unfilled in the career she had dreamt about for so long, she sought out opportunities with non-profits, as the associate dean of Student Services at the University of Chicago and vice president for Community and External Affairs of the University of Chicago Medical Center, gaining skills along the way that would eventually help her in her role as the first African-American First Lady of the United States. 

And I couldn’t take my eyes off of Coach Monica Aldama in the new Netflix documentary Cheer. Monica, who has a B.B.A. in Finance from the University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from the University of Texas at Tyler, had aspirations to be a CEO in NYC. But on a chance, she decided to apply for a cheer coach position at the junior college in her hometown of Corsicana, Texas. Now, 24 years later, Monica has led her team to a multitude of NCA junior college division national championships and grand national titles, making Navarro College the only junior college program to win multiple NCA Grand National Titles (intentionally not saying the numbers to not give away any spoilers!). 

I thought about these three individuals all throughout the week. And you know what I decided I admire most about them? Their ability to swerve.

You see, I personally feel much more comfortable with a deliberate flick of the turn signal, cautious look over my shoulder and perfectly executed transition over to the left lane. “Swerving” just downright makes me nervous.

In the cases of Joe, Michelle and Monica, it would have been easy – and logical – for them to continue down the paths they thought they were “supposed to be” on. But in hindsight, we see that their willingness to embrace a swerve ended up bringing them some of their biggest accomplishments. 

Each day we have the opportunity to write and build a little more of our story. And one day, we may decide to swerve and head down an entirely new path that provides us with more goodness than we can even imagine in return. I hope that when that happens, we remember the stories of Joe, Michelle and Monica.

I hope that instead of shying away of the swerve, we use their stories to give us the confidence needed to throw caution to the wind, take that leap and place more value in our ability to figure it out than the need to see a safety net below.

On My Monday Radar

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:  

• 31 risk to try this month. Inspired by a newfound willingness to “swerve,” I felt compelled to share this article. It includes 31 small risks to try during a month and I thought it was cute idea! By becoming more comfortable with taking small risks like the ones included in the article, we may find ourselves less scared of taking bigger risks.
• Easy shredded chicken in the slow cooker. I cook shredded chicken in the slow cooker about every other week and I am always amazed by just how easy it is to make! All you need is chicken, water and slow cooker. Then a few hours later, you have perfectly cooked chicken to top salads at lunch or a protein to use in a multitude of different recipes. 
• The Gifted School. If you liked Big Little Lies, you will love this book. I read it in less than a week and was really impressed with how the author was not only able to write from the adults’ point of view, but also the children’s. 
• A new way to use a microplane. This might be incredibly random, but I had a revelation this week and needed to share. Did you know that you can use a microplane to easily grate cheese instead of a big, clunky cheese grater? Last week I wanted to sprinkle cheese on my dinner, but I couldn’t find my cheese grater. I tried my microplane in a moment of desperation and was very pleased with the result (and how easy it made grating cheese)! 

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

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