It’s not Monday.

It would seem that every new commitment starts on Monday. Every new workout regimen, every new diet, every new life-altering goal, it always begins on Monday. To us, Monday marks a new beginning and with that a new change. Only those changes seldom seem to last.

And we find ourselves on that Monday, waking to the cresting orange sun, fresh coffee in hand, our speakers blasting the newest synthwave mix as we begin to pen the ideas of our new novel. And it feels good. And that feeling lasts for two, maybe three days. And then it begins to feel a lot less like inspiration and a little more like work and soon we find ourselves giving way to that familiar craving, the one that tells us to take a break: ‘Maybe things will be different in a week. Maybe we can start again—next Monday.’

It’s Thursday and it’s that same bold, almost smoky smell of coffee that wafts through the air as I type these words and the phrase ‘No More Mondays’ actively runs through my mind. Change begins when we decide for it to begin. Change begins now.

For a long time, it has been on my heart to begin an analysis of various psychological and philosophical approaches and their application (effectiveness) towards our lives, but such things seemed beyond me. Like so many others, I wait for the perfect Monday. And I’ve been waiting a long time and it then dawned on me:

Perfect does not exist. The only moment that matters in life is right now.

Excuses

If only acting on our ambitions were so simple.

There’s always thoughts (lies) to contend with; lies which attempt to bind us to our present miseries. Lies that tell us if only we were a little more educated, a little more intelligent, a little more qualified, then we could start.

And these excuses, we buy into them because initially, they appear as truth. After all, why shouldn’t we wait until we’re a little more accomplished?

But then we have to ask ourselves when is that time? When has an athlete arrived at their peak? When has a psychologist seen enough patients or performed enough studies to present an idea? And philosophers, have they not been debating similar ideas since the early bronze ages?

The truth is, we’re never ready. We just have to get started. It’s like what a buddy of mine told me about prepping for Ranger selection. I had asked him if he felt ready. He didn’t respond to my inquiry in the manner I had suspected. Instead, he looked me in the eye and asked, “How do you get ready for a kick in the nuts?”

There’s never a right time. There’s just now.

So here’s to Thursday and the beginning of my journey into unraveling human nature and the various snares that hinders its progress. Day 1 is today. Day 1 has arrived—on a Thursday.

-M.C. Wolter