Nobody likes the end of the weekend. The much anticipated post-holidays return to work Sunday Blues hit everyone last week. The past month was a whirlwind of holidays replete with precious time temporarily restored to my personal life. Tomorrow the alarm clock will shock me out of bed and back into the realities of working life. Until then, I’m faced with the Sunday Blues (SB). But never fear, you can survive the Sunday Blues.
Not to be histrionic, but there was once a time in my life when I considered myself a perpetual SB casualty. I’d dipped my big toe into this misery once a figment of Monday entered my mind, usually late Saturday night. Sunday morning I’d dive right in, stewing in varying degrees of dread that could easily spark an existential mini-meltdown.
Self-created Sunday purgatory is something I’ve contented with for years, and for a time I believed it was the job. I simply needed to get into the right profession. The problem was once I got into the “right” profession, the SB got worse. Total mind fuck, as I spent inordinate amounts of time beating myself up. I was too sensitive, too anxious, too non-committal, too incompetent, too this and too that.
The SB extended itself to the other six days of the week, lest they feel left out. As I’m not one who easily compartmentalizes working life from Life, I hit a psycho-spiritual bottom.
In retrospect, my inability to contain the SB was an eye-opener. Sure, the job was hands down unreasonable, and I was already anxiously inclined to boot. In the end, my proclivity to see myself as a victim of the choices I’d made was what held me captive, and it was burning out that jogged me out of my trance.
This was uncomfortable and empowering, which resulted in change. Some of these changes were external, and they were based on shifts made internally. What did I learn, pray tell?
• Shitty jobs and shitty bosses aren’t mythical creatures. They do exist. If a job or work environment is truly toxic, leave. It might take some legwork, but your freedom to leave trumps all faux reasons to stay.
• You might have an awesome job – and still be an unhappy asshole. If you’re hell bent on being unabashedly negative, your experience is bound to also be negative. You might have a dream job others would kill for, but be so mired in negativity that you fail to see the gems sitting right under your nose. Train yourself to look for the positives. Unless there are none; then kindly refer yourself back to the first bullet point.
• Feed your passions – especially if they’re decidedly lacking at work. We hear of people who love their jobs, and many of us aspire to this. If you’re not currently there, it’s even more important to engage with what moves you. The more joie de vivre you cultivate, the more motivation and energy you’ll have to make the most of a mediocre job – or professionally pursue what you love.
• Goal-oriented is socially acceptable, but how are you walking the path? Consider the purpose and learning inherent to what’s here right now. The path is all gravy.
• You’re not at work, stress-head! This is something I constantly need to remind myself. It’s the thought I replace all weekend work anxiety with. It goes something like this:
I’m enjoying a Sunday afternoon. A stray work thought flits into my awareness. I play out fantastically distorted work scenarios in my head. I notice I’m barely breathing. I remind myself I’m not at work, take a breath and return to enjoying the afternoon. Repeat as necessary.
Mindfulness. It goes a long way.
• Gratitude, baby. Unless you’ve been lurking under a rock, you know that many people are out of work. Occasionally, my own Negative Nancy makes an appearance. I shut her down with gratitude for simply having a manageable, meaningful job during these times.