That Familiar Friday Feeling is Freedom

First published on November 11, 2016

I'm excited this morning. I woke up an hour before my alarm and couldn't sleep. Thoughts were running through my head, everything from the great Manchester United midfield three of Carrick, Scholes and Fletcher, to the work that might unfold for me in 2017 to - most of all - this weekend, when I am meeting a group of old friends. We are geographically scattered across the country, but are in touch every day by the magic of the communication age. We support each other, discuss current affairs, talk *a lot* about football, and provide a shot of energy, humour and community into each other's lives. We haven't had this many of us in the same room for years, probably since a stag do or a wedding. It's going to be great. 

As I ate my breakfast this morning, the sun pouring in through the windows of my new flat, I felt really excited. The world seemed open. No ideas were stupid. Everything had a positive frame. Anything could happen. 

And that's when something clicked for me. I've had long running correspondence for something approaching a decade now with one of those friends about the Monday Feeling. How can we enjoy Mondays more? What causes that general misery that everyone recognises from some point in their life as being what happens on Mondays?

Over our years of experimentation, we've concluded that alcohol has a lot to do with it. My recent experiments with my diet have shown me that sugar (and the subsequent crash) plays a big part. But this morning I got this flash, which goes a long way to completing the puzzle. And it comes from reframing the question - why is the Friday feeling so good? 

And the answer is that on Friday, it feels like anything could happen. Not that anything could happen right now at this moment, necessarily, but it's coming - the weekend is here. There is a sense of freedom, of openness, of possibility. 

I have been moving towards this thought over the last year, as I've worked for myself for about half the time, and for another organisation (and a brilliant, caring one, I should add) about half the time. 

No matter how great the work is that the organisation I work for does (it's great!) , and no matter what a great place it is to work (it's really awesome), there is a real difference between being in total control of your life, from the tasks you do to the vision you have, that comes so much more easily when you work for yourself. And it's this sense of possibility. Of freedom. It's this which is pulling more and more people into freelance work, into contracting, and away from the traditional career path. 

And as I look forward to this weekend, with this buzz in my chest and a smile on my face, I can't help but wonder - how can I get more of this feeling? And how can I give this feeling to others? And what would the world be like if everyone - in every home and workplace - had this feeling all of the time? 

This buzz that comes from the instinct, the evolutionary drive, to make things happen, to see things change. This excitement. This freedom. This possibility.