happy monday

on my train ride into work every morning i have a little prayer time/quiet reflection for the day ahead. part of that prayer never really changes:

- help me do my work well, to honor the commitment i have made in choosing this job.

- help me use words only to strengthen, encourage, and comfort clients

- help me be patient, kind, and engaged with both clients and co-workers

when i come to this part of my prayer i make sure to slow down a bit and focus on the words, so that they don't lose meaning as i repeat them every day. and i realized this morning how much of a difference this makes for me as i reflected on the crap work week i had last week. it was the kind of week where i was counting down the minutes until i could leave (starting at noon); getting annoyed when someone called and i had to actually help them (aka do my job- not the best social worker response, oops); spending more time than appropriate reading blogs/books/articles online while browsing for things i want to buy on cyber monday; etc. 

i realized this morning that all of last week i hadn't done my usual "pep prayer" on my ride in. instead i half-dozed as i was really tired from all that was going on, so that by the time i reached work i already didn't want to be there. that attitude trickled on through the hours and shaped my day. for me, it really makes a difference to have even just a few minutes of "this is how i want my day to be. this is how i will help make that happen" in the morning to guide the flow of my thoughts, actions, words, emotions. 

did it today, having a great day!