How Your Mindset Shapes Your Entire Week

The Self-Fulfilling Prophesy

A self-fulfilling prophecy occurs when our beliefs or expectations influence our behaviour, causing those beliefs to materialize in our behaviour.

At some point, everyone has encountered a self-fulfilling prophecy. Have you ever attended an event you didn't want to go to, expecting it to be dreadful, only to find that it turned out just as you had imagined? This is a prime example. Consider another example - a teenager convinced that they’re not good at maths. Due to this belief, they approach maths classes with dread, neglect homework, deeming it "too challenging." Ultimately, their actions align with their belief, fulfilling their very own belief.

This concept can be seen in the way that we view weekdays. Collectively, we've developed a shared belief system about weekdays and the emotions we should associate with each day simply because of its position in the week. This generalized belief set is prevalent within our culture, particularly for the "average working individual."

• Monday marks the dreaded beginning of the week; it's a day most people don't look forward to.
• Tuesday tends to be forgettable – a day where nothing exciting seems possible. Nothing big could possibly happen to someone on a simple Tuesday afternoon!
• Wednesday, known as hump day, represents the midpoint of the week. half the battle is finished.
• Thursday often feels like a fake Friday – it's a bit bothersome. Excitement builds for Friday, but one more day must be endured.
• Friday, the day everyone anticipates, signals the end of the workweek. It's when people can unwind, head home after work, and relax, knowing they don't have to face work the next day. For some, it's a triggering day, especially those grappling with addiction, depression, or other mental health issues.
• Saturday is the favourite, a day to relax, catch up on sleep, enjoy outings with friends, and have fun. Or again, for the person who has no hobbies, or friends, or has a lot of commitments – like kids, college, or projects – it is a day of chores and FOMO can come up for people as well.
• Finally, Sunday arrives – the pre-Monday blues day. Despite its "rest" designation, Sunday is overshadowed by the impending Monday, signalling the beginning of the cycle again. What are we supposed to do on a Sunday? Or have we got too many commitments that the rest aspect of it never comes and we enter the new cycle more exhausted than before.

With these standardized weekday beliefs, how might individuals approach their lives? They might feel weary and grumpy on Mondays, bored on Tuesdays, striving to push through Wednesdays, experiencing a tinge of excitement on Thursdays, and exuding happiness on Fridays. Weekends are filled with freedom and happiness. Alternatively, someone might lack funds, friends, or hobbies to fill their weekends, leading to a bleak and exhausting period. Regardless of the specific beliefs about the days of the week, the point of the matter is that these weekday beliefs steer individuals' actions, leading to the fulfilment of those beliefs, whether they align with personal values or not. Maybe someone is wishing their life away without even knowing it, believing they must get through these days of the week and do with the weekend what they do. It is like we have imprisoned ourselves. Encapsulated by the days of the week, which hold power over how we should feel and what we should be doing.

The Hero's Journey

Imagine applying the concept of the hero’s journey to our weekdays. The hero’s journey is a story pattern that is applied to almost every story ever written. Typically, the hero (or main character), leave their normal life behind and find a call to adventure, face challenges and then grow stronger because of it. They might meet friends along the way and finally return home, now with new wisdom and new approaches to living their life.

An example would be the harry potter series. Harry potter lives a boring life, with neglectful relatives. Then he has a call to adventure, which is a letter inviting him to go to Hogwarts. He faces challenges, like having to defeat Voldemort in every book and finding helpers like his friends. he learns things and transforms himself and defeats the villain of the book and then finally returns home, having found his identity.

What if we applied the concept of the hero’s journey to our days of the week? To see Monday as the call to adventure….an opportunity to start the week off well and embark on a new cycle that’s full of potential for growth and change. Tuesday and Wednesday have us overcoming challenges, trying to figure out how to make our life better, by tailoring self-care and hope and positive change into them. Thursday can be reaching our goal of completing the tasks and showing us that our goals are being reached. Friday could be a day of having the final push and then we reach the weekend, where we transform and reflect, share our story of the week, and reflect on what we learnt and what we can bring into next week.

Conclusion

While this perspective might seem idyllic, the reality is far from fairytale. Sometimes, a subtle shift in mindset can open doors to healthier attitudes, exciting possibilities, and newfound spaces for growth.

By acknowledging the power of our beliefs and embracing the potential for change, we can weave our own hero's journey within the confines of the week, breaking free from the constraints and reclaiming agency over our lives. The weekdays need not be prisons; they can become the canvas upon which we paint stories of resilience, growth, and purpose. Beliefs about the days of the week guide our lives, whether we intend them to or not. Are we, perhaps unknowingly, wishing our lives away, resigned to a cycle dictated by the calendar?

The hero's journey, a timeless narrative pattern, sheds light on a potential alternative. In the realm of weekdays, self-fulfilling prophecies shape our experiences. Beliefs guide our emotions, steering us through Monday's dread to Friday's elation. But by recognizing these patterns and applying the hero's journey mindset, we can transform routine into opportunity, and weave our own narratives of growth and purpose within the week's constraints. The days need not dictate; we can reclaim agency and paint stories of resilience, one weekday at a time.