Can you say “Thank God its Monday”?!

I love this poster for super-cool shared workspace We Work. I asked the yellow taxi driver to stop so I could snap it when I saw it on my trip to New York last week.

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I'm lucky to be doing something I really enjoy. I might not jump out of bed on Monday and shout "Thank God its Monday! (TGIM!)". But I definitely don't think "Oh s**t, it's Monday! (OSIM!)" 

I suggest the key to enjoying Monday mornings is finding work that hits a sweet spot combining three factors, which together being what Sir Ken Robinson calls being "in your element":

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1. Something you like doing

You spend much of your productive life at work. And in the immortal words of Ben & Jerry the ice cream dudes, "If it ain't fun, why do it?!"

2. Something you're good at

I've become a big believer in focusing on your strengths, and worrying less about your weaknesses, as I posted on here. Rather than trying to be the perfect all-rounder, zoom in on what you're brilliant at.

3. Something that pays enough

Here, "enough" is the key word. Your work might not make you rich, but ideally it needs to make you enough money to be content.

I've seen mates who had points 2 and 3 nailed. They were good at what they did and made good money. But they didn't like what they did. And after a while this becomes corrosive, eating away at your soul. In some cases they changed, trading off less cash for more fulfillment. Several have become teachers, earning less, but living more, fir example.

And then there are the increasing number of mid-life entrepreneurs  who quit high-paid jobs for a riskier life. But in doing so they can focus on the bits of the job they like, ditch the corporate bull***t that eats into the day and commute to their home office (saving a whole day a week). And in many cases, because they're focused on what they like and what they're good at, they end up making more money, not less.

So, if you start the week thinking OSIM, rather than TGIM, perhaps you should think about how to better hit the sweetspot as described above?