What a way to start the week, right? I saw this gem on Pinterest the other night and literally gasped: “We worry about tomorrow like it’s promised.” Heavy, right? And true. So comes this tidbit for today’s #mondaymantra, #mondaymotivation, or hashtag just-a-good-thing-to-remember-today.

You guys know I’m a Type A planner and think ahead-er, so worrying kinda comes with the name of that game. I try to be ten steps ahead of everything, whether that’s what dinners will be for the week or what my whole life will look like five years from now. Sometimes it’s SO easy for us to get caught up in hypothetical what-ifs of the future that we forget altogether the value and meaning of the present moment.

This is a total Monday thing, too.

Of all days, Monday seems to be that one where you start the day thinking of the whole week. It’s never just Monday. It’s MondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayaaaaaaaaaandFinallyFriday.

As soon as Monday hits, it’s a countdown to the next weekend, with some weeks becoming an abysmal blur in a race towards the week’s grand finale.

But the finale might never even come.

Totally un-cheery and dark, but we could literally DIE sooner than expected and not even live to see next Taco Tuesday come around. So what good, really, does it do us to be stressing out over things that haven’t even happened yet (and might not ever)? What good, really, does it do us to be stressing out over things PERIOD???? Unless you live in Regret City – which I hope you don’t…I’ve heard it’s a pretty bleak place – the majority of your anxieties are probably of a futuristic nature. Anxieties over your future jobs or future family or future conversations or future tests. It’s all stuff with a big fat question mark over it, yet it somehow garners the strength to scare the daylights outta us and get our heart rates up in an unwelcome and unwarranted fashion. You know what we really need to do? We need to:

Maybe it’s obnoxiously morbid to start your week off with a “you might not even make it” mentality. But maybe it’s a good jolt of realness to keep things in perspective. Tomorrow ISN’T guaranteed, for any of us. You could get in a car wreck or have a heart attack or get struck by lightning, or any other freak accident found in those crazy 1001 Ways To Die books, and within the blink of an eye, everything is changed. That’s not supposed to be a scary, morbid thought though – it’s supposed to be a rejuvenating reminder.

We are not promised tomorrow.

The sun might continue to rise in the east, but we might not rise with it. Yup, that’s a heckuvah burden to bear on top of the Mondays. We are not guaranteed tomorrow, so it’s time to quit worrying about tomorrow like it’s promised.

This means it’s time to quit the anxieties in their tracks.

Live each and every day as the blessing that it is.

Treat each person you meet with respect and kindness, knowing you might never meet again.

Embrace this week wholeheartedly, unafraid of what tomorrow may bring.

Smile often, laugh even more often, forgive easily, learn always, and proactively follow your star, always looking to brighten others’ days as much as your own.

Go carpe diem, sieze the CRAP out of this day, and know that The Bachelorette comes on tonight and it’s gonna be great.

How are you going to live this week – this DAY – to the fullest?

I want to encourage all of you beautiful, sunshine-y people to leave a comment below to encourage someone ELSE this week. A nice little message for a stranger who might need it more than you’ll ever know. Ready, go.