SUNDAY SEEDS OF THOUGHT: A Case of the Mondays... Or a Case of Your Mindset?

Dr. Carmela Maxell: Welcome back to Rooted in Rising, another Sunday seat of thought. My name is Dr. Carmela Maxwell. Can I ask you a question? When was the last time Monday actually did something to you? Seriously. We blame Monday for a lot. Ugh, it's Monday. I hate Mondays. Mondays are the worst. But if we're being honest, Monday is just a day. It has never personally offended you. It has never sent you an email. It has never assigned you homework. It has never criticized you. Monday simply shows up. What usually makes Monday feel heavy is everything we've attached to it. Think about it. For many of us, Sunday afternoon isn't relaxing. Around four or five o'clock, something starts to shift. You start thinking about work, about deadlines, about that one meeting, about the dishes that you didn't finish, about the laundry that isn't folded, about your inbox, about whether you're behind before the week has even started. Nothing has actually happened yet. But your body is already responding to a week that doesn't exist yet. Psychologists sometimes call this anticipatory stress. Our brains are incredibly good at preparing us for future threats. The problem is, our brains aren't always good at distinguishing between a tiger and Tuesday staff meeting. I wonder how many Mondays were ruined before they ever arrived. How many mornings have we walked into expecting them to be terrible? How many opportunities have we overlooked because we already decided what kind of day it was going to be? Now don't misunderstand me. I'm not pretending everyone loves their job. I'm not pretending life isn't stressful, because it can be. Some of you have incredibly difficult Mondays. Some of you are caregivers, healthcare workers, teachers, first responders, parents trying to get three kids out the door before eight o'clock. Yep, that's me. Some of you are grieving. Some of you are simply trying to survive. This isn't toxic positivity. It's perspective. Because while we don't always get to choose our circumstances, we often get to choose the story we tell ourselves about them. There's a psychological concept called confirmation bias. It simply means we tend to notice evidence that supports what we already believe. If I wake up believing today is going to be awful, guess what I'll notice? Traffic, long lines, the rude email, the spilled coffee, the printer that won't cooperate. Every inconvenience becomes proof that I was right. But if I wake up asking, I wonder what good thing might happen today, my brain starts looking for different evidence. The coworker who made me laugh, the stranger who held the door, the unexpected compliment, the five quiet minutes in my car before walking inside. Same Monday, different lens. I wonder sometimes if we've accidentally trained ourselves to dread beginnings Monday, January, birthdays, new jobs, fresh starts. Because beginnings require something uncomfortable, hope. And hope is risky. Because hope means something good might happen. But it also means disappointment is possible. Sometimes it's emotionally easier to expect the worst. That way, if something good happens, it's a nice surprise. But living that way has a cost. It means we borrow tomorrow stress and pay interest on it today. So here's your Sunday seed. Instead of asking, How am I going to survive this week? Try asking, Who do I want to be this week? Not what do I have to accomplish? Who do I want to become? Do I want to be more patient, more present, more courageous, more forgiving? Because your week isn't built one day at a time. It's actually built one decision at a time. Before we end today, I want to give you one simple challenge. Tonight, before you go to bed, don't make a list of everything you have to do tomorrow. Instead, write down one thing you're looking forward to. Maybe it's your morning coffee. Maybe it's listening to your favorite song on the drive to work, or your favorite podcast. Maybe it's lunch with a friend. Maybe it's simply proving to yourself that you can make it through another day. Give your brain something hopeful to search for. Because what we look for, we often find. Thank you for spending a few minutes with me today. If this Sunday seed encouraged you, I'd love for you to share it with someone who's already dreading tomorrow. And remember, Monday isn't coming to ruin your week. It might just be bringing an opportunity you've been too busy worrying to notice. Until next time, stay rooted in who you are and keep rising into who you're becoming. I'll see you Tuesday. Please make sure to like and follow this podcast on any platform that you're listening from. Talk soon.