As we start to experience weekends blessed by hot temps and brilliant sunshine it's become apparent that two things are here... Beach Season and SAD-ness (Sunday Afternoon Depression-ness). This time of year brings about mindless Fridays, carefree Satur-days, and energetically indulgent Satur-nights. Unfortunately, the freedom, joy, and spirit of this recurring summer experience is almost automatically unwound by that miserable SAD-Ness and guilt that sets in. No matter how nice the weather actually is we tend to miss out on the beauty of our Sundays as we're plagued by the stress and anxiety for the coming week. This year... no mas. We're Taking back Sunday!
After you've experienced and enjoyed the excitement of Friday and Saturday commit to keeping your highs high on Sunday! ... and I'm not just talking about "hair of the dawg" or the "Shampoo Effect." Though that arguably may help elevate your mood temporarily... it's surely just a delay for your hangover, and will make your Sunday night or Monday morning even that much more miserable. Don't get me wrong... I'm a huge fan of the occasional Sunday Funday, and partying all day is a great alternative to succumbing to the SAD-ness. However, recharging your batteries and getting some quality rest on Sunday night will be a key to powering through the coming week.
Here's what I propose you try... At some point on Saturday when you're really feeling "good" try to capture a word, a thought, feeling, or song that will remind you of how great it is to be YOU. This word/thought/song should be as vivid as possible so it can do the heavy lifting for you on Sunday. Any SOTS?(Song of the Summer... feel free to leave comments with your vote). After you've captured that moment... pick up your smart phone and set a few Sunday reminders so that word/thought/feeling/song pops up when you wake, mid-morning, afternoon, and evening. Be creative... paste a link to that song, a funny picture, a link to an uplifting story... whatever you need to bring you back to that HIGH from the previous day.
Most of us have used, or at least heard of the power of GRATITUDE and it's uplifting effects. This is a form of using gratitude to save your Sunday. You're simply snapping back to a memory of the elation and spirit of a day prior. Then you're using that energy to pick up your mood and power your day. It reminds you how lucky you are to be YOU instead of dwelling on the fact that you're got a week of work ahead of you. It may seem too simple, and it might even seem stupid, but it can't hurt to try.. right!? You'll be amazed at how much better your weekend is when you avoid wasting 1/2 of it worrying about the week to come. So, I challenge you to finally put your iphone, driod, etc. to some "positive" use. All you've got to do is capture that feeling, set your creative reminders, and let the power of gratitude guide you through till the next weekend... when you'll find something new and even better to be thankful for! ... because that's what Bieber would do!
;)