By Paige Leigh Reist┃Posted: January 30, 2018

Recently, Art of Living faculty member Aniket Gune hopped online via Facebook Live to share his thoughts on making Mondays a little more manageable. According to a survey conducted by Monster.com, almost 80% of people in the workforce feel anxiety during the weekend when they think of the upcoming work week, and for some, that anxiety can even be debilitating.

There are many recommended ways to combat this anxiety, including keeping yourself busy, prepping for the upcoming week with housework and organization, and even getting a new job that you like more than your current one. But these only address the outside sources of anxiety. “For change to be sustainable,” says Aniket, “we need to have it on the inside”.

The key to better Sunday nights, according to Aniket, boils down to what he calls the “Three P’s”: perspective, presence, and practice.

Perspective

Changing your perspective is all about shifting how you see Mondays according to your own unique outlook. If you’re achievement-oriented, for instance, focus on making your Monday mornings the most productive hours of the week. If you’re socially-oriented and find yourself dreading workplace boredom, look around you and find the humour in the social interactions of the office!

Presence

Being present is one of the most effective ways to minimize feelings of dread and anxiety. As Aniket mentions in the video, “Whatever you resist persists. Suppressed feelings come back with even greater venom and velocity.” One easy way to remain calm and present, no matter where you are, is to simply return your focus to your breath.

Practice

Aniket’s third “P” is “practice”--quite literally nurturing a practice of meditation. Meditation doesn’t just calm you down in the moment, easing tension in your body, but brings you to a place inside of yourself that is steady and unchanging. “It truly helps you to access a part of who you really are--not as a concept, as a label, as an attribute--but it helps you ascribe that part of you where thoughts emanate and where creativity springs forth.” Accessing this part of yourself on a regular, consistent basis helps you tap into it whenever you need to.

Watch the full 20-minute video to learn more about each practice, and for a quick breathwork demonstration, too!

Paige Leigh Reist is a writer, editor, blogger, and creative writing instructor.