TGIM!

That’s right. Thank God It’s Monday!

This Monday: You are in control. You feel less stress. You are happy. You are healthier for it.

Feeling skeptical? Read on to learn how to turn your Mondays around.

Two important reasons:
1) Stress is unhealthy
2) Mondays are inevitable

Stress will affect the mind and attack the body. Doctors’ offices all across the country are filled with chronic pain patients. Many who have no idea it may be from the negatives they allow to penetrate their minds.

Here is how to fight back.

Remove Monday’s stress by OWNING it. Begin the week on your terms.

News. Start by removing the smart phone from the bedside.  Emails and news updates from the 24-hour media are not “good-mornings.”  In fact, according to Psychology Today, the average American news media coverage has been on a steady rise in negative stories and overall negative news coverage over the past 30 years! So it is not “just you” if you are feeling an increase in negativity after watching the news.

Negativity affects the brain in patterns and behavior. If you’re not careful, or mindful, your day can be shaped by simply being exposed to bad news. It can infect you with stress. Stop giving bad news your brain’s attention. Especially when you wake up.

Emails. This is perhaps more of a challenge, but one that must be met. Of course you want to be alerted to important business, but not every email is a fire that you must put out.  Let your mind stretch and be filled with positivity. This will fuel you with the perspective and confidence to take on important emails, so that you don't feel like you're swimming to keep your head above water.

And before you think you’re excused from social media, sorry, no. Social media has joined the ranks of wonderful technology, but can also be a source of negativity. From news feeds, to friends reporting bad news, to declarations of anger and political strife--social media can be a scrolling wall of negativity. Or even worse, it can be what psychologists refer to as a source of “compare and despair.” When you see and interpret others achieving, living, or progressing past you, it may result in a negative feeling of being left behind. Just remember: most people use social media as a tool to accentuate the positive, and completely eliminate the negative. Meaning, it can be candy-coated and is not absolute truth. Everyone has problems. They just don’t post them.

So avoid feeding your mind junk food for breakfast. Instead, take a few minutes. Make time to taste your breakfast. Enjoy your coffee. As your mind awakens, feed your brain a breakfast of positivity.

Find what inspires you. Browse art and architecture magazines, look at beautiful scenic photos, read poetry, or enjoy some of your favorite inspirational quotes. Go to YouTube and find that favorite movie clip, the one that gets you motivated or laughing. Google your personal heroes. Find out what inspired them. Maybe they, too, stayed away from negatives by seeking out positive influences.

Sit on the porch and listen to birds. Meditate. Breathe life in.

Exercise. Another tactic to fight stress is by staying active to recharge you mentally and physically. Go for a morning walk or a bike ride. Do yoga. Stretch. A simple, productive stretch can supercharge your morning. The more stress you eliminate, the more you can reduce chronic pain - that's one reason the Miracle Stretch® Piri-Stretcher® works so well. It helps eliminate struggling to target and stretch the piriformis muscle.  Relaxing the muscle reduces tension from the sciatic nerve to relieve pain in the lower back, buttocks, and legs. Imagine a Monday morning that is positive, happy, healthy, and pain free.

These few daily changes can jumpstart your mind and body in a positive manner and help you “push-back” on Monday syndrome...it's time to permanently defuse it from its nasty reputation.

Now go amaze everyone with your Monday.

PS. This works for the rest of the week, too!