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Everyone who works a standard Monday through Friday job or goes to school knows that Monday can be a tough day. While there isn’t a psychological diagnosis known as the Monday Blues, it combines elements of depression, anxiety, and a host of other genuine mental conditions.

Why do the Monday Blues exist? Typically, Monday is depressing for a couple of reasons.

First, we’ve just finished Saturday and Sunday where we have the freedom to do what we enjoy (and have just done it). Monday represents the end of that. Second, Mondays involve doing things that we don’t enjoy, like working boring jobs. Finally, we’ve gotten out of the routine of doing what we dislike! Getting back into it is tough for obvious reasons.

But you don’t have to suffer from the Monday Blues. Fortunately our tips explain how to beat them.

Start the Day Right

It’s easy to be depressed and upset on a Monday. Likely the weekend was much more fun and exciting. However, that doesn’t mean Monday absolutely has to be depressing and upsetting.

While it’s always best to start every day on the right foot, it’s even more crucial on Mondays. Start your Mondays with meditation, prayer, a funny TV show, a good book, or anything positive. As soon as you wake up, do something fun and relaxing. Stop the Monday Blues before they start by making a planned effort to beat them.

Be The Attitude Exception

Most people don’t hate Mondays. They loathe them. They’re slightly hungover, tired, or recovering from staying up late watching the football game. And, they’re going into an environment (work, school, etc.) they can’t stand.

Most offices and schools are negative places on Mondays because everyone is in a bad mood. If you want to beat the Monday Blues, you’ll have to be the attitude exception in your environment. It’s not always easy, but make an intentional effort to be happy, friendly, and positive (without going overboard or being annoying, of course).

Make Mondays Fun

It’s no wonder we like weekends and get the Monday Blues. Not only do we have freedom on the weekends, but we do lots of fun things on those days too. We go out, see friends, spend time with family, and schedule other exciting events. Why not do that on Monday?

In many cases, Mondays are busy, we’re tired, and it’s hard to find time to do something fun. But, we should make time for enjoyable moments. It could be a cup of coffee with a friend, a quiet walk, or playing a sport.

Scheduling fun activities on a Monday serves a couple purposes. It breaks up a normally negative day with something positive and gives a person something to look forward to.

Eliminate Mondays Altogether

OK, I’m not talking about removing Mondays from the week. But, what if the work week started on a Tuesday? Then Monday would be awesome and Tuesday would suck. So, the key is to find a way to eliminate the need to be consigned to a job you hate and a controlling schedule.

Try to find a way to get more freedom in your life. Find a job you like, go back to school, or start your own business. If you can be happier and more independent, the Monday Blues will definitely be a thing of the past. Imagine waking up on a Monday with lots of money in the bank and following your own schedule.

Of course, that kind of path typically requires a lot of initial hard work. But, the change and work required for success is well worth it, not just to eliminate stressful Mondays, but to make life much more fun.

So, best of luck in eliminating the Monday Blues. Hopefully these tips and techniques to beat them will make the first day of the work/school week a lot more tolerable.

When I was a student at Ohio University, you could always tell the fraternity members: they wore khaki pants and blue dress shirts around campus.

I don’t want to pick on the Greeks at schools because there are a lot of awesome leaders in that group. But, those organizations promote conformity of the individual to the whole.

And, they aren’t alone. Conformity is the norm in most of our social groups: schools, religions, jobs, etc.

There’s nothing wrong with conforming or being a part of the crowd, in some cases. However, if you want to be a high value man who is attractive to others, you’ll have to stick out positively, especially in certain environments where conformity is the norm. Those environments could be work, clubs, festivals, etc.

There are several ways to actually not be a clone. However, it doesn’t mean you have to go out and become a freak or attention whore. It just means that you find a way to distinguish yourself from the majority of the crowd.

It could be choosing bolder clothes, being fit and healthy, being funny, etc. Fortunately, there are many ways to stand out in a positive and productive way. But, most people don’t make the effort to actually do it.

Average is called that because it’s what most people are. You don’t want to simply have “being normal” going for you (of course that helps as a base). The vast majority of people have that because average or near average is the majority. But, you also don’t want to turn into a freak. You want to be on unique side of the spectrum, but be at the top of it.

If you want to be noticed and get attention, you’ll have to quit being a clone. Stand out in a positive way and you’ll be more attractive to others. Stop being so average and just a clone of other people. Pursue excellence and be awesome. Fortunately, we offer tips to do just that.

Check out the rest of our articles to be an attractive, unique person who is popular wherever he goes: work, school…anywhere.

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Drama is a fact of life, even for adults. But, while some degree of drama is inevitable in group settings –family, work, social life — it doesn’t have to dominate and create a high level of stress. I have worked in fields where drama could reign supreme, if it is allowed (sadly at times it was allowed).

While there is no surefire way to stop drama, it is possible to lessen the drama and stress, both personally and as a group. So, here are our four tips to stop the drama. They may just make your life (and job or other place) a lot better!

Stop Enjoying It

Yes, there are people who thrive on drama. They typically claim to hate it. But, watch their actions, not their words. They constantly stir up trouble and then get all pretend exasperated about it. There is something in the brains of these individuals that enjoys the drama.

It could be the need for alleged excitement or a strong desire to be needed when it comes time to “clean up” after the drama is created. If this could describe you, then ask yourself a few questions:

Do you like the feeling when you hear gossip?
Does catching people in the act of doing wrong excite you?
Are you easily bored when there isn’t “trouble” in your life?

If you think you thrive on drama, you need to make sure that you aren’t allowing it to continue inappropriately in places where it shouldn’t. For example, gossiping at home with your sister is one thing. Doing it at work is another. You shouldn’t like it anywhere, but this will be addressed in the final tip.

Break the Chain

In every case, drama occurs because multiple people become involved in an alleged problem. If there aren’t others involved, it’s simply a problem. Once multiple people make it their business, it turns into drama. And, trying to stop the drama becomes that much harder.

If you want to stop the drama in an environment, it requires someone who’s willing to break the chain of gossip, anxiety, and negativity. That should be you. You hear a rumor? You shut it down. Someone is complaining? You remain positive. You hopefully get the point. It takes at least two to be dramatic. Don’t let it happen.

Institute Clear Leadership

Drama sometimes is inevitable (or so it seems). After all, if you’re at work and a customer gets irate and starts acting like a fool, he’s started drama. Now, you have to deal with it. Voila, drama exists outside of your control.

Not so fast. Why is the customer being dramatic? In healthy environments, drama is minimized because good leaders stop the drama before it even starts. A customer comes in angry? Then a leader will meet the customer’s needs. If that fails, then the leader will shut down the drama instead of letting it fester.

A bad leader, however, will simply increase the drama by playing up the situation. Even if this person handles the customer correctly, maybe she’ll keep bringing it up around the office or let the negativity and anxiety everyone felt continue.

Get A Life

Most people I know who are dramatic have no excitement or sense of meaning in their lives. Just like some kids don’t distinguish between good and bad attention, some people of all ages crave excitement and don’t differentiate between good and bad excitement.

This means that creating and continuing drama thrills them in a way that hanging with friends, playing a sport, or going to a concert thrills others. In fact, a lot of the most dramatic people I know personally don’t have much of a life.

If this is you, then find a life and stop the drama. Your lack of a social life is likely creating problems and pain for people around you and you might not even realize it. Go to a concert, take up a hobby, start exercising. Do anything that keeps you busy.

Hopefully this articles helps ease the drama in your life. Knowing how to stop the drama can make everyone’s life a little less hectic and a lot more enjoyable!