#MondayMotivation: Begin with the End in Mind

In my Monday blog series, I am sharing why we should all embrace our Mondays.

One of the most profound and helpful books I’ve read as a professional was Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. It is pretty much the gold standard and must-read book of any careerist, and I cannot begin to tell you how much the book changed my life. Habit #1 in the book is entitled Begin with the End in Mind, and it is very fitting on how we should approach our beginnings and fresh starts.

Mondays aren’t a favorite for many of us, but in order to be highly productive and successful, you can’t count any days out. If we flip the way that we look at Mondays, it can truly have a positive impact on our life, both personally and professionally.

Mondays are an opportunity for us to start off on the right foot—because how we begin is a huge factor in how we end. With Monday being the beginning of the week, it is a huge moment for us to set ourselves up for prosperity.

Utilizing the begin with the end in mind philosophy mandates that we don’t look at our Mondays as a day to be loathed. It means that be start our Monday and the week off the way we want to end it. Always keeping the goal in focus.

I’ve also been using the begin with the end in mind motto when it comes to getting fit and losing weight. In November, I began to embark on a weight loss journey, one that I wanted to change my life. I had been overweight for years and carrying around the extra pounds began to have an affect on me both mentally and physically. I set out to finally shed the weight in a healthy fashion by working out consistently and eating right.

Fast forward to about nine weeks later and I have shed close to 40 pounds by working out 5-6 times a week and eating a low-fat diet. Each time I work out, I hate it so, but I try to begin with the end in mind, Picturing the way I will look when I hit my goal, how good I will feel, and how much healthier I will be.

I try not to think about where I am presently, but how much the work I put in will pay off in the end.

If we all begin with the end in mind, we will have better Mondays, which mean better weeks, better months, and better years. It also means making the most out of every day you are given instead of complaining and thinking negatively.

Let’s make a pact to begin with the end in mind each and every Monday and we will see how much farther it gets us and how much better we will feel.