Monday, 9/14/20: Talking about things going right, a new Netflix show and nonfiction books

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 catching up with one of my best friends, an impromptu glass of wine at an outdoor cafe and the little kid who told everyone “Happy Sunday! Make it a great day!!“ at the coffee shop yesterday.

TODAY: I’m so excited for my run this morning. After the rainy weather last week, I can’t wait to log some miles outside this week.

INTENTION: My intention for this week is to continue asking myself my “end of day question” (more below!). 

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

Lesson of the Week: What’s Going Right?

How are you feeling right now? What’s on your mind this morning? If you’re like me, you’ve probably already thought about your various to-dos for today, what needs to get done this week and the various problems and obstacles ahead of you.

It’s crazy how so many of these thoughts can happen automatically, right? But here’s a question: when was the last time you actively thought about what was going right and not just about what was going wrong?

This thought was posed to me last week when I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts, Oprah’s SuperSoul Conversations. 

In this episode, Oprah was chatting with bestselling author Geneen Roth. Geneen is the author of many books and one of the first people to link eating and dieting with personal and spiritual issues that go far beyond food, weight and body image. I really enjoyed the conversation and Geneen’s overall message, but the part that resonated with me the most was when Geneen talked about “taking in the goodness all around” (fast forward to minute 26 if you want to listen). She remarked that multiple times a day she stops and asks herself, “what are three things going right?” 

The conversation took place back in 2017, but the suggestion feels more pertinent than ever. It’s human nature to remember negative experiences and thoughts more prominently than positive ones. It’s why we jump to the last page of a performance review to see where we need to improve and why we clearly remember that one critical comment instead of the ongoing positive messages. 

Unless we consistently remind ourselves of the good, we will automatically reach for the bad… and that’s especially true right now. If we are looking for what’s going wrong, we sure don’t have to look very hard to find something.

But the simple question of “what’s going right?” flips the script. It forces us out of that negative thought loop and reminds us of the good that is still happening among the bad.  

I’ve written before about a daily gratitude practice, but to me, this question feels different than thinking about what I’m grateful for. In particular, I really like that I can apply this question to my professional life. 

At work, I’m a problem solver. I am quick to focus on what’s going wrong, what needs to be fixed and then move on to whatever is next. I’m thankful for these skills, but I also think I would be a bit happier/less stressed if I took the time to recognize the wins among the problems. So, after listening to the podcast last week, I challenged myself to answer this question every day. I set an alarm on my phone to go off at 5:30 p.m. and at the end of each workday, I jotted down three things that were going well. 

Amazingly, even on the hard days, I was able to come up with three things. And on Friday afternoon, I took such satisfaction in glancing back at my lists and reminding myself of the various “wins” from the week. 

I’m excited to keep up the practice this week and wanted to share today in case it appealed to you as well. Maybe you’ll write the question on a post-it note and place it on your desk or set your own reminder to ask yourself this question a few times a day. In whichever way feels right to you, I hope the exercise brings you a small sense of happiness like it did for me.

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:  

• Have you watched the new Home Edit Show on Netflix? I couldn’t stop watching this weekend! This feel-good organization show is just what I need right now. The show follows Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin, the women behind the insanely popular company “The Home Edit,” as they take on organizing projects from celebrities (like Reese Witherspoon and Eva Longoria!) as well as everyday people with inspiring stories. Loving it! 
• Roundup of new books coming this fall to teach you something new. If you are looking for some new nonfiction finds, check out this list of books coming out this fall. The descriptions alone are inspiring! A few titles that are now on my “To Read” list include Do Good At Work, Unapologetically Ambitious and Making Conversation.  
• Message on imperfection from Brene Brown. If you need a little extra boost this morning, I highly recommend watching this seven-minute clip. I caught this segment live on the Today show last week and found myself nodding along to the whole thing… especially the part about striving for excellence vs. striving for perfection (wow!). 
• And lastly, a few funny items from internet to make you smile this morning:this video, which embodies the type of “I’ve got this” energy I hope to bring into the week, this tweet that accurately verbalizes my feelings about smiling while wearing our masks and the T-shirt that we all need for that next conference video call. Happy Monday!

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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