Today is one of those Mondays where almost nothing is going to make it more bearable, and the only way out is through. One of my best coping mechanisms is listening to music on my morning commute that I know will instantly put me in a better mindset.

Here are the 5 songs I’ve been leaning on pretty heavily lately to pull me out of my Monday funk. Keep in mind, I will probably have a completely new list of songs that I am listening to on repeat by tomorrow, but for now, I’m sticking with what works.

Posessed by Paul James

Best Line: You’re too scared to run, you’re too scared to fall, oh baby, oh, you’re too scared to cry. Comon, little darling let me hear your song; let us hear your song. Don’t you know you little sweet thing, my little darling, hell yeah baby you belong.

Why it helps: I could listen to this song 100 times in a row and never get sick of it. Listening to it reminds me to stop worrying about everything all the time, to be myself and take things head on.

Pursuit of Happiness by Kid Cudi

Best Line: I’m on the pursuit of happiness and I know, everything that shines ain’t always gonna be gold.

Why it helps: This song gets me walking a little faster in the morning, and reminds me that while I am going to have bad days, it doesn’t mean I am not still moving forward. The bad days just make the good ones all the more rewarding.

The Nights by Avicii

Best Line: One day you’ll leave this world behind, so live a life you will remember.

Why it helps: Avicii always puts me in a nostalgic mood, and brings me back to some of the most carefree and fun moments of my twenties. When I listen to it on my way to work, it reminds me that my job is not the only thing that makes up my life or who I am, and not to waste my day stuck in a swirl of negative thoughts.

My Body by Young the Giant

Best Line: My body tells me no, but I won’t quit, cause I want more, It’s my road, It’s my war.

Why it helps: This song can get me sprinting at full speed on a treadmill when I was just about to call it quits. It pretty much does the same thing to me in the morning when I am just not feeling it. Everything in my mind is telling me to turn back and crawl back into my bed, and this encourages me to keep going. The best stuff is always right around the corner.

Countdown by Beyonce (Live at Jimmy Fallon 2011)

Best Line: Do whatever that it takes, he got a winner’s mind; Give it all to him, meet him at the finish line.

Why it helps: I’m obsessed with this version of Countdown, and have watched the video an embarrassing amount of times. It is one of those happy, upbeat songs, that puts me in a good mood. When I listen to it, it always reminds me how great my husband is and how lucky we are to have such a good partnership.

It also helps because, Beyonce.

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I feel better already. This Monday isn’t looking so bad after all.

Love,

Meg

The inspiration for this blog was born out of one of the worst Sundays of my life. I realize this sounds a bit dramatic, but hear me out.

It was September of 2014, and I was facing the end of a ten-day trip in Hawaii, having celebrated my oldest sister’s wedding. I spent the entire week in a state of pure bliss. Each day, I spent time with family, explored the outdoors, swam with sea turtles, went on hikes, and just generally enjoyed life. As the trip came to a close, I was feeling the typical nostalgic sadness that most people might feel when leaving a vacation.

This would be hard for anyone to leave.

It wasn’t until the moment we had checked out of our hotel in Maui, and stepped into the airport shuttle, that the typical nostalgic sadness turned into something completely different. The second the car door shut, I started crying. I didn’t stop crying until well after the plane wheels hit the runway back home in Chicago. I actually think I only stopped because I was forced to sleep at some point. Let me reiterate that this was a 23 hour trip.

I cried the. Entire. Time.

I have never dreaded a Monday morning more than I did that day. My reaction to returning home and going back into normal life was surprising even to me. I had gone on vacations before, and while I always felt sad when they were over, there was still a sense of comfort to returning home and getting back into a routine.

It took me awhile (and a few weeks of misery) to really understand what was going on with me, and why I reacted the way I did.

I was unhappy (I know, it doesn’t seem like it would take a more than a few minutes let alone a few weeks to figure that one out). Specifically, I was unhappy with the direction (or lack thereof) my career was headed in, working a stressful 9 to 5 office job that I wasn’t particularly invested in, and how I had chosen to design my lifestyle living in a city that operates on roughly 8 months straight of winter.

A typical Chicagoan outfit.

After coming out of my post-Hawaii misery haze weeks later, I decided that I would make a concentrated effort to improve my life on all fronts, and build a life where I would never experience that type of Monday morning dread again. Which is where this blog comes in.

I am not naive enough to think that my entire life should or will ever feel like a week in Hawaii, but I am naive enough to think that it is worthwhile to fight to live a life where I am doing something that makes me excited to get up (most) Mondays.

I have experienced two camps of people; the first who believe that your work is just a way to make ends meet, nobody ever loves their job, and to just suck it up if you’ve found something that you can tolerate (not to suggest this is an incorrect viewpoint, because these people tend to be much more content than I am, so whatever works for each person, I’m all for it). The second group is where I believe I fall-people who believe that you can and should do what your passion is (which doesn’t always have to be related to the job you have), and pursue what inspires you. Even if it doesn’t work out that way, I would like to leave this earth knowing that I tried my hardest to accomplish that.

This blog is where I’ll document my attempts at living a life of happiness, embarking on a lifestyle and career change, navigating life as an introvert, some occasional non-sensical ramblings that have to do with none of that, and ultimately try and understand how one finally shakes the Sunday Night Blues and reaches a point where they can honestly say “I love Mondays.”

Side note-if you’ve already figured this out please e-mail me, and also try not to rub it in.