Understanding your Sunday Scaries
The Sunday Scaries, are real. They are also known as the Sunday night dread. They are the build-up of impending doom that one feels when they know they are returning to a job they hate.
We have all been there at one time or another. For some, they have felt these for many years and think it is just part of working and being an adult. I have experienced them many times over the course of my life. I felt them in different jobs, with differing levels of responsibility, and in different industries.
Who doesn’t love Sundays, right? What starts out as an amazing day can quickly shift into darkness when Sunday evening approaches. This phenomenon is due to our thoughts that build up throughout the day about our disdain for our job.
Sometimes it can happen as early as Saturday night. We might hear something someone says that triggers a reminder about our job or maybe you make the mistake and open your email to see a note from your boss about something she wants you to take care of first thing on Monday. The worst is the well-meaning coworker who sends you a text over the weekend wanting to rehash something that happened during the week.
The feelings of dread, anxiety, fear, anger, resentment, etc are coming directly from the thoughts you are having. Our thoughts determine how we feel.
The first step in getting to the bottom of the Sunday Scaries is examining what is going on in your head. Take a hard look at WHAT you are dreading.
Here are some questions to ask yourself:
· What stresses you out about your job?
· What do you fear?
· What aspects of Monday morning do you dislike the most?
· Do you feel like this on most work nights or just on Sunday nights?
· When was the last time that you considered leaving your job?
· Why haven’t you left the job already?
· What is keeping you there?
· What do you secretly wish that you would be doing instead?
We often stay in jobs that we dislike for a myriad of reasons. It can be easier to stay with a job that we know then to take a risk and leave. It takes us stepping out of our comfort zone and into unknown territories.
I have switched jobs, careers, and jumped industries quite a few times over the course of my adult life. For me, I was in constant search to find the best career that aligned with what I enjoy doing and where I felt I could serve others and enjoy myself at the same time. I guess when I look back, I always have known what I truly wanted to do but instead I took many detours in search of fulfilling the things that I felt were the most important, my practical needs. I am forever grateful for all of these detours because now I can help others avoid them.
I took jobs that I thought met my needs. They were all positions that I felt had the most financial gain and/or the most potential for growth. Once I would get them and settle in, I quickly would realize all of the reasons that I had to leave. For me, it was rigid schedules, micromanaging bosses, little room for creativity, not enough variety, far removed from helping someone directly, ridiculous meetings, endless politics, office drama, etc.
I always have understood and knew that with anything we do, there will always be some aspects that we may not love but I also believe that you can LOVE what you do AND make money doing it. I refused to stop until I found it.
I got really comfortable looking for jobs, finding ones that looked like a great fit, crafting my cover letters, contacting the decision makers and getting interviews. I got skillful at interviewing and grew my confidence. The journey of it all not only helped me to get back to what I have always known I wanted to do but it helped me to learn what I didn’t want.
Try to identify:
What pieces of your job that you dislike the most.
What parts of your current job that do you like.
What things that you do that energize you and what things drain you.
What aspects do you resent or get angry about.
What tasks during your day contribute to you feeling stressed out.
What things are within your control to change.
Life is too short to stay in a job you hate. I have a proven system that will take away the Sunday Scaries forever. If you are struggling with figuring out what you want to do with the rest of your life, whether you should stay or go, or help getting your dream job, message me to set up a complimentary strategy session.
Until next time,
Hildi