by John Graydon Burnett – April 2014
Don’t show your hands
Meet Willie. Willie lives in Roaring Creek, in the Cayo District of Belize. Willie is a parrot and Willie has a bad attitude when it comes to hands.
Place your hands behind your back, and you can put your face right up to Willie’s face with no problem. He will actually rub his head against your head, as long as he can’t see your hands. Do NOT let him see your hands. Keep them behind your back. Because…if Willie sees your hands, Willie FREAKS OUT.
Show your hands, and suddenly your friendly neighborhood parrot starts screaming at you. Willie will peck you, bite you, flap his wings hysterically and attack you if he sees your hands. Willie hates hands.
It’s impossible to know why, because, well, Willie is a parrot.
People hate Monday
People treat Monday like Willie treats hands…people don’t like Monday. It’s impossible to know why, because, well, people have been hating Monday forever.
Most other days of the week are fine. There’s Tuesday, a perfectly cool day. Then Wednesday, such a groovy day it has its own nickname, “Hump Day.” Thursday comes along and men, women and children get downright giddy. Why? Because it comes just before Friday.
Glorious Friday. A day with a grooviness quotient eclipsing Wednesday. We know this because the grooviest things in life don’t just have nicknames, they have acronyms…like TGIF. Regardless of religious beliefs, background, or affiliation, we all “THANK GOD IT’S FRIDAY!” And, of course, Saturday and Sunday are at the top of the menu. They’re like a super-sized combo day we simply call “The Weekend.” We work for it, bask in its sunshine, party in its wee hours, and worship in its Day of Rest.
If we could, we would rub our head against “The Weekend.” What’s not to love about “The Weekend?!?!” “The Weekend” is lovely.
But do NOT mention Monday. Because you mention Monday, and people FREAK OUT.
Fear grips, outlooks dim and anxiety levels climb. It’s so bad that if another day of the week is going poorly, people say they “have a case of the Mondays.” Monday is like a disease. No, really–it’s a killer. Research tells us people are more likely to have a heart attack on Monday morning than at any other time. Yikes! No wonder people hate it.
Monday is beautiful
[dropshadowbox align=”center” effect=”lifted-both” width=”250px” height=”” background_color=”#ffffff” border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” ]“Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.” -Zig Ziglar[/dropshadowbox]
But I’d like to challenge you to love, Love, LOVE Monday! Monday is life-giving. It’s a sparkling horizon and a budding flower. It has the potential to be the launch pad to a great week.
We study, attend seminars, training classes and work our butts off in order to be as smart as possible in our chosen field. However, only 20% of success is a result of our aptitude, while 80% can be attributed to our attitude. As a result, we need to launch into Monday with an attitude that is counter to the cultural norm. We can’t dread Mondays. We need to bring an attitude of excitement and gratefulness! Do you want to stand out to your clients, boss, in the classroom, the office or the boardroom? Roll in on Monday with an “I’m gonna rock the world” attitude!
[dropshadowbox align=”center” effect=”lifted-both” width=”250px” height=”” background_color=”#ffffff” border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” ]“Rejoice always.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16[/dropshadowbox]
Choosing joy on Monday, the greatest day of the week, will allow you to catapult into each week like Charlie walking into (another Willy’s) Chocolate Factory. You will cruise into Monday wide-eyed, whimsically and ready for adventure.
My bird-buddy, Willie, pecks, screams, and attacks hands as if they are his enemy. And he misses out on a lot of love that folks would like to show him. Monday has a lot of love to show us if we just embrace it.
No matter what you are facing in the coming weeks, fall in love with Monday! Because changing a day can change your week. Changing your weeks will change your months. And before you know it, you’ve changed your life.
Life is Sweet.