Around America, it is Monday Moaning (I’m mean morning, well, I really mean moaning). Until at least noon today, workers everywhere will beMOAN the fact that it’s back to work, back to the office, back to everything. This behavior will manifest itself through the use of one contraction: gotta.
“I gotta go in today.”
“I gotta go to sales meeting.”
“I gotta meet with clients.”
Dictionary.com tells us that the word, gotta, is in fact, a slang contraction standing for “got to.” The word “got” is an auxiliary verb meaning MUST. “Must” is also an auxiliary verb meaning “to be obliged or bound to an imperative.” See where I’m going, here? No? Me either, BUT…… gotta generally makes people feel like they are having to do something because someone else is making them. The perception is that it is EXternal; not a choice. I have a solution to this outside/in perception issue: the word WANNA.
Wanna means “want to” (again dictionary.com reference – hey, it’s on the internet, it must be true). WANT means “to feel a need or desire for.” Feelings? Desire? Sounds like INternal stuff, sounds like a choice. Understand that there are some problems, by the way, with wanna. George Carlin told us about learning in Catholic school that wants were selfish and bad. In fact, George said that it seemed like “wanna was a sin all by itself. Thou shalt not wanna.” So, if Catholicism is your issue, I suggest a conference with your priest to check the updated Papel view on wanna.
Like many of you, I love to choose stuff and I’m not that fond of “gotta” doing anything. Internal motivation, having the feeling or desire come from inside me, is awesome. If you read Dan Pink’s book, Driven, you know that internal is the only real way to get the motivation thing done. And although we could peel this onion much deeper discussing the internal and external ramifications of gotta and wanna, I’m not going to. We’ll keep it simple.
My suggestion then, to turn Monday Moaning into Monday Morning, is to change one word: instead of I gotta do….., how about I wanna do…?
“I wanna go in today.”
“I wanna go to sales meeting.”
“I wanna meet with clients.”
Step one, then, is to verbalize this change, say the word: WANNA. Once done, your attitude may even follow along.
This has been a public service announcement from Rich Sands Seminars. You’re welcome.