This informal CPD article The effect of waiting for the weekend on our wellbeing was provided by Dr Aline Nassar, Board Chairman & Chief Executive Officer at Stochos, an organisation which aims to develop, guide and coach organisations in the process of Excellence & Capacity Building.
The effect of waiting for the weekend on our wellbeing
For over 20 years, my brain automated the idea of waiting for the weekend in the hope of getting that sense of relief and relaxation. At some points, it was not even about that, it was only about not feeling the despair and the lack of motivation we go through during the week. In a better context, I would say that some would wait for the weekend to feel happy, joyful, or to just have fun.
That is true! I’ve lived it! And I know many around me who lived it, are living it, and will still do! But what is really behind that! And is it just the weekend that we wait for?
As much as waiting for the weekend is true, the weekend is sometimes replaced by when work is over on a daily basis, it could be that break we wait for at noon, it could be the short time you have in between two jobs, it could be the free time you get because a session or a meeting got cancelled, it could be that long vacation you’ve always wanted and waited for…
What is really happening is that we’re living a huge part of our lives waiting for another part to happen. We wait for the weekend to enjoy, even if that enjoyment was doing nothing at all. We are programmed into doing that because of the perception we have about work. It is as if we’re not supposed to be enjoying the part of our lives where we have to go to work.
If I am to ask about the reasons that make you wait for the weekend, I am sure you’ll have plenty of reasons to share. Some hate their manager, some want to change their career, some do not like the fact that they have to work so long, some are just not motivated, some are feeling depressed, some are in conflict with their colleagues, some do not see their values aligned with what they are doing… The list goes on. And that’s a way to look at work, but what if we change our perspective.
So even though we know that work has a main and big role in our purpose, we still think of the time we spend at work as a waste of time. Waste of time in terms of not really enjoying ourselves.
If we’re to think about what’s happening, we’re hating our lives for 5 days for the sake of enjoying 2 days. So why don’t we really try and change our perspective? No matter how you feel about work, what is really important is you! The “you” that deserves to be happy and living with inner peace and not just waiting for a specific time to feel “ok”!
The day you change your perception of work, and understand its importance, and how fundamental and necessary it is, then, you’ll be able to transfer the hate/negative energy that you withhold into a better one where you at least go with it and try to accept where you are and what you do. The second you decide to go to work to have fun, to socialize, to make things happen, to feel accomplished, to develop, and/or to improve, you will no longer wait for the weekend as if it’s your only purpose in life!
I am not asking you to switch into loving what you do, but I am asking you to start loving yourself and to stop punishing yourself. Yes, you need to be choosing yourself. You need to be choosing how you feel. You need to stop waiting for the weekend to feel ok! You need to be aware of why and what makes you work. You need to give work a purpose. A leading purpose I would say, this means a purpose that leads to other more meaningful things such as the things you get to do because you get paid at work.
