Anxiety And That Sunday Evening Feeling!

As I write this article it is Sunday night, I have the Oscars ceremony playing on my second computer screen and I am thinking about Monday as well as what is on my list of things to do, appointments, and other commitments.  I’m busy, really very busy, and I also have to fit in a trip to the doctors for an x-ray on my ankle because I may have given myself a hairline fracture after slipping on a pebble......and I’m thinking about our apartment move in a months’ time and, and blah blah blah! You get the picture right? It is all rather busy and honestly, I don’t think anyone would hold it against me if I felt an itsy bitsy little bit overwhelmed, and yet I am very chilled. In fact, not at all overwhelmed! 

So, it got me thinking to a time several years ago when I still lived in London and worked as a lawyer in the City. It reminded me of conversations I had with fellow lawyer friends about their Sunday evenings frequently filled with anxiety. We were all the same. It would get to Sunday evening and suddenly that feeling would hit like a truck. The joy and fun of what you did over the weekend come to a sudden halt. The worries and anticipation about the work week ahead and who or what would ruin your day first could overwhelm and beat every positive and joyful feeling from the weekend out of you. That of course assumes you were not working all weekend, which was so frequently the case! 

And honestly, even with the benefit of hindsight, it is still not clear to me whether many of those feelings were even justified. Were they interpretation or fact? Do we just allow ourselves to fuel feelings of overwhelm and dread for nothing. We add anticipation to false interpretation allowing your mood to take a nose dive, so you start to feel the dread and associated feelings even without even the justification to do so. 

So, everything becomes a problem. You look around your apartment thinking about all the things you failed to achieve. The lack of food in the place or god forbid, clean socks or underwear! Then you check your work email because clearly you need to add a little more fuel to the fire, and if you are not being irritable with those around you by this point, I’m really impressed!  If you manage to get much sleep after all of that, I’ll be even more impressed. Either that or you are telling fibs, but I won’t hold it against you. I get it, you are embarrassed.  So, do me a favor and stop beating yourself up right now. 

And stop allowing yourself to get into a Sunday rut and start enjoying your weekend more.....So, in an ideal world I suggest to you to relax more, adopt a healthy, preferably vegan diet, make sure you sleep well, do meditation, make healthy choices, get to the gym then modern art galleries and spend plenty of time organizing yourself……But really! Listen, I was a lawyer, I was always to busy with important things to do anything else and I get it........

Every Sunday I would make myself almost ill with anxiety at what was coming the following morning, let alone the week. With the best will in the world, any high stress job is going to mean you have enough to think about, so in lieu of all of those fantastic healthy choices, which by the way are really good ideas, just try taking it a bit more easy and give yourself a break so you can try to get rid of those Sunday evening blues. You deserve it to take baby steps to make significant changes to your life.

So here is the pitch but it is not for sales, its a life choice pitch! When you work with a professionally trained ontological business or life coach, they have been trained in skills and tools to help make your life better, and as someone who has been through the process of transformation with my own coaches, trust me, it really does work! When I partner with people, I encourage them to think about making project plans for the major areas in their lives, to maintain clarify, momentum and traction. I hold them to account without overwhelming them and I support them they suffer breakdowns as ultimately these can and frequently will lead to wonderful breakthroughs!  

So, as you read this on your Monday journey into the office, take a moment to think about the message I am sharing with you. When I reflect on my past life and how I live now I wonder what all the Hubba and wasted time worrying about silly things was about. So, just to remind you, it’s Sunday evening. I am thinking about how busy my Monday and the rest of the week ahead is. I have so much going on! No problem.  I’ve got this all-in hand! Time to have a great night’s sleep and I don't know about you but I'm looking forward to a stress-free productive week. 

Peter Gourri is an Ontological Business & Life Coach. Ontological Coaching is a powerful methodology for effecting change in individuals, teams and organizations, making it perfect for the corporate and individual world alike. It is effective because it is based on a practical understanding of language, moods and conversations for behavioral and cultural transformation. 

The power of Ontological Coaching is that it is not only a highly effective coaching methodology, but is also a highly effective methodology for:

·      Personal change 

·      Leadership 

·      Business improvement 

Ontological coaches are skillful facilitators of profound learning that generates genuine transformation and more powerful and constructive ways of engaging with different aspects of life and work.  

Contact Peter for a free discovery sample coaching session today. You never know, by breaking out of your comfort zone and sending him a message, it might just change your life beyond all recognition!