MONDAY BLUES

Ok so Monday is here again which is great....but how come we usually don't sound so enthusiastic about it? This post is going to be weird because I just wrote on TGIF last friday, and here I am writing on the blues...!

I wonder why we call it the Monday Blues?  Do you have a clue? 

In general, instead of having the energy all geared up for the week, most people, especially working adults, tend to experience a dip in the energy level just as the week peeks in.  Rightfully, after a well-rested 2-day weekend (for those working the typical 5-day work week cycle), we should be more energised right? 

Hmmm.....not quite for me actually.  That phrase 'well-rested' doesn't seem to be in my weekend vocabulary list lately, at least for the past few years!!   By the time it's Sunday night, I'm like this...

 

I don't know how I cope with Monday Blues all these years but I think I'm able to manage them well by doing some of these...

1.  Always pray for a brighter day ahead! :)

2.  Clear the space!  This is a must-do before I start off my coaching sessions with my coachee usually.     

     Basically it's clearing your mind of the things that are huddling around at the back of your mind.  All you

     need to do is verbalise what you have at the top of your mind, followed by acknowledging your feelings

     about it, and then say that you are going to clear that space (or thoughts).  Clear at least 3 things!  So

     for instance, one of the things that I cleared today was..."My mom is not well today.  I empathise

     with how she feels and am worried for her well-being.  I will check on her later.  For now, I'm

     going to put that aside". 

     Oh but of course, don't forget to clear the space (around you) literally! 

3.  Focus on the postitive things (hehehe...I know, I know...easier said than done when you know you've

     got loads to do or follow up!!) But go ahead....just keep that focus.   If it helps, write it as a list.  I try not

     to confuse this with my daily 'to-do' list.  If you've been following this blog, you know that I have my

     emo-scrolls :)

4.  Start the morning talking with friends or colleagues about the weekend (good or bad) or about life topics

     in general.  I suggest spending a few minutes perhaps (if you can spare the time) over a cup of coffee. 

     For me, this is just like a daily engine perk-me-up... I need coffee and I need to talk!!  After that, go

     ahead, just drown yourselves in the many emails that you've got to clear or wash that pile of laundry

     waiting for you at the utility corner! 

5.  If you are going to start somethig new (such as a new job, new hobby, etc) - start midweek!  That way

     you get to beat the blues and start fresh without thinking of the blues...

6.  Last but not least do look forward to the weekend, of course! Even though you know it's routine (at

     least for me...) but hey, c'est la vie! :)

 So how do you beat your Monday Blues? 

Share them or add on to the list here...

Have a bright day today!!

TGIF

Finally the end of the week is here!  It's a relief especially for this week because it's also the last day of mid-year exams for my kids...YIPPEE!! I believe it's a similar situation for most of you who are parents too....

Speaking of exams...the first word that comes to the mind is usually - 'STRESS!!' I think this word is popping up more frequently and is often verbalised by the students and parents alike. 

Personally for a parent who's son is facing the

PSLE (Primary School Leaving Examination) at the end of this year (OMG...it's going to be VERY SOON!!!)....I can feel the stress level creeping up in me slowly but surely! 

But I wonder if my son is feeling the heat too because as far as I've been noticing lately, he's been rather relaxed and cool about it.  I know this is a good sign but to be honest, he's making me more of a nervous wreck with this calm and collected attitude!  Why? Well....my son is just an average scoring student and out of the 4 subjects he takes, he fairs either on the borderline or just under for 2 of the subjects....SO, that's why! :(

On the other hand, I know that some kids react negatively, i,e. expressing their stress through stress-related symptoms such as headache, fever and crying.  Recently, my friend has been sharing that her son (same level as mine) has been unwell and occurs frequently. When probed, he admitted that he was feeling stress about the upcoming papers.  Just today, another friend told me that her daughter ( a 3rd year secondary student) was in tears since the night through morning before going to school.  Her reason for the outburst - not confident that she could pass the math paper....

DOWN MEMORY LANE... 

I'm now going back down memory lane when many years ago I had to take

my PSLE.  My recollection of school and exam life back then was 'CAREFREE'. I don't remember having my mom or granddad pushing me to study, do homework, etc.  The only nagging I got was "Memorise your time-table!"  Most of the time, the memory that I had of that period was filled with lots of playing time both at home and in school.  Did I have tuition?  Hmmmm....I don't think I had any except for the last year when I joined a group tuition on the weekend.  Even then, I dreaded going for it and thought it was such a waste of time as I'd rather be home playing or simply do nothing.

When the big day came, again I don't think I was feeling 'stress', except for just a tiny-winy bit of nervousness.  The funny thing was that I did pretty well for the exams.  I spent my holidays in Malaysia and remembered gettnig a call from my mom after she had gone to collect my results.  Incredibly, I passed! (3As & 1A*).  My mom even asked if I had cheated....LOL....because my friends were incredibly surprised too with my results as they told her that all I did was play in school (I was always initiating the play time during recess!)

BACK TO REALITY... 

So back to the present.... I know times have changed and the standard has gotten way too high for the kids (I'm not going to start lamenting about how tough the education system has become lately!) As much as I want him and his siblings to experience the carefree days that I had during my childhood, I know that if I totally slack in giving him the push, he would suffer the outcome.  So I've become one of those typical parents who has to succumb to signing up the kids for tuition & enrichment classes.  Even with these, there's no guarantee that he would do well enough to pass through the year with the minimum benchmark.  On top of that, I also have to deal with helping him to improve his overall well-being from the social skills perspective. 

As the timeline draws closer to September, I think the best that we can do for them now is to continue to pray and provide the unconditional emotional support for them!

Anyways, it's TGIF and whatever it is, the mid-year exam is done!  The weekend is here and I'm going to make sure that they get the much deserved breather after the past weeks of slogging out. 

So please my friends....be happy that it's TGIF!  We are looking forward to go a birthday party tomorrow!! 

What about you?  Have a happy weekend!!! :)

STAYING POSITIVE

When you are feeling down, what most people around you will say to comfort you is, "Come on...stay positive!"

I really do appreciate this short phrase of comfort but seriously when you are at the lowest point of the pits, it's easier said than done.  About 2 years ago, I got myself a life coach to help me sort out on things that I wanted to do.  I remembered one of my biggest dilemma was to stay motivated.  It was hard and took me a few sessions to realise that I need to be doing something significant to get myself up and going again.

One of the things that I thought through was giving myself a daily mantra.  Knowing myself, I didn't want the mantra to be some lengthy phrases or filled with quotes to memorise.  I wanted it personalise and something that shouts "That's ME!"

So I decided to create this...my very own daily dosage of Emo-scrolls!! :) 

Each scoll contains mostly a 1-word emotion description such as these... 

I like the fact that these scrolls are bright and colourful as I love colours!  So how do I use them?  Easy....

Every morning before we set off to send the kids to school, I will unfold one scroll and read out the word that flashes through.  In order to embed this emotion futher, I would tweet the word too.  So that's basically how I'd keep motivating myself for the day by remembering the first emotion word that pops out in the morning.  The best part about this was that I was able to get my kids to participate and made it their mantra for the day too!  They looked forward to be able to pick the scroll of the day and unfolding the emotion behind it.... And oh by the way.... all the emotions written on the scolls are of course words that depict happiness!!  So that means it is non-negotiable that we stay positive throughout the day :P

So what's the one thing you would do to motivate yourself to stay positive?  Feel free to share.....

Have an AWESOME day! :-)