Monday, 4/19/21: Talking about spring, feeling off and daily vacations
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 am thankful for a really delicious dinner I made Saturday, time to relax, and getting lunch with a friend on Sunday.
TODAY: Today, I am most excited for the iced coffee I’m treating myself to this morning. Need it to start off this Monday caffeinated and ready to go!
INTENTION: My intention this week is to take a “daily vacation” each day (more on this below!).
Okay, your turn! And if you want to share your three steps, I am all ears. 🙂
Meaningful Musings: Ruts and Renewals
I’m not sure what the weather is like where you are, but in Chicago, we are right in the middle of spring (except for the fact that it’s supposed to snow tomorrow?!), and I cannot get enough of the season.
I laughed at myself the other day when I realized my camera roll is completely filled with pictures of flowers blooming and trees budding. I just can’t help myself! I’ll be on a run or a walk, and whenever I see a colorful bed of flowers or previously bare tree filled with luscious leaves, I’ll feel the need to capture the moment. I’m awestruck by this season in a way that I haven’t been before.
I thought this fascination might be attributed to the fact that I missed spring in the city last year. Because of COVID-19, I left Chicago in mid-March, when it was very much still winter, and didn’t return to the city until the beginning of July, jumping right into summer. But then I read something last week that got me thinking about another reason for my affinity toward spring. Randomly, I came across the following passage from one of my favorite non-fiction books, Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness. The author, Ingrid Fetell Lee, writes,
“Spring restores our consciousness of time, and even more so, of possibility. The thawing of the hard earth, the flowing of sap, the bursting open of millions of buds: as the slow land quickens, we feel the energy of new beginnings around us, and our attention turns to the future. We are reminded of what a thrill it is to know that joy is speeding toward us, and to stand awaiting it with open arms.”
Ingrid so eloquently puts into words why something like a single flower breaking through a crack in the sidewalk feels so exciting this year. It may sound cheesy, but to me, it’s a sign of the hope on the horizon. There’s still a long way to go, but this season is reminding me of the possibilities to come.
And while the mention of spring in the passage above is what initially piqued my interest, the second part of the passage ended up resonating with me even more. Ingrid continues,
“Finding happiness isn’t a matter of creating a perfect even-keeled experience of the world, where no sadness ever intrudes. Instead, it means riding the waves of joy, and trying to find our way back upward when we’ve been knocked down. In renewal we find a kind of resilience, an ability to bounce back from difficult by reigniting the optimism and hope that rises within us when we believe that joy will return.”
I didn’t realize how much I needed this reminder until I read it. To be completely honest, I’ve been feeling “off” lately. There’s nothing seriously wrong or any grievances to air, but I’ve just been in a but of a rut due to some stressors at work and a few things in my personal life that make me feel untethered. But I’m thankful that I came across this passage because it reminds me I’m OK. I’m riding a wave right now and I know I will make my way back up.
The above passages live in a chapter in Joyful called “Renewal,” and when I hear that word, my first thoughts are lavish vacations or some type of introspective experience à la Eat, Pray, Love. But if grandiose gestures like these are not possible right now, is it possible to still find a sense of renewal? What about something I could realistically do today, among all the stresses and messes of everyday life, to feel a bit more refreshed, renewed and optimistic that the joy will return?
Thinking about this, I was reminded of something I read in Laura Vanderkam’s book Off the Clock: Feel Less Busy While Getting More Done (link to exact excerpt is below). She writes about the idea of a “daily vacation,” or where you intentionally plan to do something enjoyable each day. The actions don’t have to be big at all, but at least for those few minutes, you are fully present as you experience something pleasurable and renewing.
I tried this out yesterday and, to my surprise, it really did work. I was feeling stressed about the week ahead, but I still laced up my sneakers and headed out on my typical 3-mile running loop. As soon as I was outside, all I wanted to do was linger in the sunshine, continue jiving with this podcast guest and take in the sights of the skyline and the lake. I remembered this idea of a “daily vacation” and decided to just kept running for fun. I didn’t pay attention to my pace, I diverged from my typical path, and I let myself stop as many times as I wanted to take pictures of the sights of spring. The 3-mile run turned into 6.5-mile run, and I returned to my apartment feeling actually refreshed. Sure, my stressors were still waiting for me upon my return, but my mood was lifted and my Sunday was made significantly better. I felt hopeful.
And because of that, I’m making it my intention this week to have a “daily vacation” or “moment of renewal” each day this week. It might be as simple as just walking slowly on the short walk back from Starbucks with no distractions this morning or taking a few minutes to watch the sunrise, but among the ups-and-downs of this week, I’m determined to cultivate a few moments of lifting my spirit and making myself feel hopeful for what’s to come.
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:
- The idea of “daily vacations.” As mentioned above, I’m linking the excerpt about the idea of daily vacations from Laura Vanderkam’s book here since I loved it so much. As she writes, researchers Fred B. Bryant and Joseph Veroff’s came up with the idea of “Daily Vacation Exercises,” where each day for one week, you plan to do something enjoyable, like playing the guitar, watching the sunset, walking the dog, for ten to twenty minutes. You choose a time when you can minimize distractions, put your phone on airplane mode and recognize the positive feelings you’re experiencing. Excited to plan my “daily vacation” each day to ensure some moments of renewal are happening throughout my week.
- Finished this book last week and enjoyed it! The book had a bit of a slow start for me (and a lot of characters to learn at the beginning!), but then once I got into it, I couldn’t put it down. The book follows a group of friends and neighbors with a central theme of drama stemming from a local parenting Facebook group. I would compare it to a Big Little Lies or The Gifted School, but I was really amazed at how the author was able to masterfully write in a lighthearted way, while also weaving in discussion of some important and heavier topics.
- Five books to read if you’re burnt out after a year of remote work. Love so many of the books in this roundup. I’ve read a few of them, and I just placed a hold at the library for Tiffany Dufu’s Drop the Ball. Can’t wait to read it!
- Last call for budgeting tips! Next Monday we will be wrapping up the second installment of the Lighter + Brighter series with crowdsourced tips, tricks and favorite resources on how to bring more lightness and brightness to the topic of budgeting. If you are so inclined to share, feel free to submit anonymously here.
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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