It's Monday morning. You wake up tired, in a funk, or feeling like you just don't want to be an adult. You begrudgingly admit to yourself that you have a choice - you can either stay in the grumble pit or find your way out.
Oh, alright. Should you grab your gratitude journal? Sure, if you've got one. Meditate? That would help. Go for a run? (Haha!)
Or what if you just express the F out of that feeling with a quick haiku? Not only is it fast, it forces your bad attitude to get out of the way so you can find the exact words in the exact format that nails exactly how you feel.
monday morning comes
like an unwanted house guest
expecting breakfast
Analogies like this are the easiest and most fun way to say what you need to say. They'll turn any feeling you have into an image. And that image and the words that formed it will move that grumpy feeling right out of your body, onto the page, and into a story of its own so that you can move on.
Now that you’re feeling a bit more ready to take on the day, you check social media while the coffee’s brewing. Because nothing will put the sunshine in your day like seeing your fellow humans displaying all their best qualities.
Ugh. Why did you do that to yourself? Oh, I know. We all do it.
we can’t look away
facebook holds up a mirror
freshly cracked each day
So there. Everybody but you needs to fix their mirror, right? Right!
And that’s one more story that can be on its way while you and your positive attitude get in the car and head to work. But just as you ease into traffic on the highway, the gremlins peek out at you from under the hood. I mean, how dare all these people be running as late as you are! Then you look over and see someone texting at 70 mph, and your head nearly explodes!
Suddenly you hear something that interrupts your thoughts.
the geese overhead
honking their way through traffic
rushing off to work
As you tap out the syllables of the haiku on your thigh, it hits you that honking geese showing up right when they did is pretty darn magical. Plus you’re feeling a little bit clever, and who doesn’t like the dopamine rush of that?
So another analogy is off to find its winter home in the south, as you pull into the parking garage. You see your boss walk by when you get out of your car, grumbling under his breath; a scowl on his face. Since you’ve still got that haiku in your head, you decide to goose him.
No - not like that! You simply observe him as you did the geese while you share the elevator ride up to your office. The first thing you do when you get there is dash off a quick haiku.
thinking he rules me
with his crappy demeanor
i flush it away
You are on a roll!
The quality of your mood is now at your fingertips, and what a rush that is. But just as you’re feeling all superpower-y, it hits you that your boss probably woke up just like you did. Only he didn’t know how to pull out of his funk.
Maybe you should send him this link and let him know how easy it is to feel better. I’m sure it won’t be long till the big promotion you’ve been waiting for is sitting on your desk under a post it note with a happy face :)
But really
Silliness aside, it’s true that writing a haiku can completely zap the gremlins in your mind. It’s part expressive therapy and part creative energy. It’s kind of addictive, too, knowing you have that much control over the little grievances that can derail your day.
Go ahead and be an adult. Just don't forget you have superpowers.