The Exorcist, Mondays, and Why Consistency Beats Perfection

“We’re gonna call this drill The Exorcist ’cause it’s all about controlling possession.”

Leave it to Ted Lasso to take a sports drill, toss in a demonic reference, and somehow make it feel like life advice.

Because honestly, if Mondays had a theme song, it would probably be played out of tune while someone mutters, “The power of routine compels you.” Mondays are not when we feel in control of possession. Mondays are when possession controls us.

You walk into the week still haunted by the weekend. Maybe it was one extra slice of pizza that turned into three. Maybe the plan to “just relax” turned into two late nights and a Netflix marathon that ended sometime around the national anthem. Maybe you told yourself you’d reset on Sunday night, and then suddenly it’s Monday morning and you are bargaining with the snooze button like it owes you money.

We have all been there.

The mistake we make on Mondays is thinking the solution is perfection. We tell ourselves we need to immediately exorcise every bad choice we made over the weekend. Clean eating. Clean schedule. Clean slate. Clean everything. And when that doesn’t happen by lunchtime, we decide the week is already ruined.

That is where Ted Lasso’s accidental wisdom sneaks in.

Controlling possession does not mean never losing the ball. It means getting it back. It means staying in the game. It means showing up again even after things went sideways.

Life works the same way.

The goal is not to be perfect on Monday. The goal is to show up on Monday. Then again on Tuesday. And again on Wednesday. Even if Wednesday is messy. Especially if Wednesday is messy.

Consistency is boring. Perfection is flashy. But consistency wins.

You do not build habits by having one flawless week. You build habits by showing up more often than not. You build them by choosing to walk in the door even when you are tired, even when you are annoyed, even when your weekend self made promises your weekday self now has to deal with.

Once showing up becomes normal, awareness starts to grow. When you are consistent, you notice patterns. You start to see which choices help and which ones hijack the remote and refuse to give it back. You begin to make better decisions not because you are forcing them, but because you are present enough to see them coming. That is real control.

Not white knuckling your way through a perfect plan. Not pretending the weekend never happened. Just staying in possession of the basics. Showing up. Trying again. Keeping the ball moving forward.

So if this Monday finds you a little off balance, a little tired, or slightly possessed by regret, take heart. You do not need an exorcism. You just need to show up. Control possession by staying in the game. Consistency beats perfection. And Mondays, like weekends, eventually pass.

Probably faster if you stop fighting them.