Do You Have A "Monday Mind?"

Recently I heard someone excuse a mistake by claiming that she had a "Monday Mind." The problem was that she said it on Wednesday. What is a "Monday Mind," and why is it showing up on a Wednesday? What was she talking about?

A Monday Mind is simply an expectation or outlook on life that predicts what will happen. It is a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy. A Monday Mind is just an attitude, but it serves as a lens through which we view life. It is usually characterized by a negative outlook, low energy, and a sense of dreary dread about returning to work.

The early rock and roll singer Fats Domino had a song called "Blue Monday" with lyrics about having to "work like a slave all day." More recently the Bangles sang about Manic Monday with a frantic rush to get to work on time. In his song, Fats Domino was looking forward to Saturday while the Bangles longed for the return of Sunday, which they called the "I don't-have-to-run-day." According to both songs, a Weekend Mind is much better than a Monday Mind, but why does this have to be?

The fact is that there are many possibilities for a Monday Mind. It does not have to be negative. A Monday Mind could be an attitude of eager excitement for a new beginning or one of relief over returning to structure and stability. It could signal the safety of fitting back into a comfortable routine of meaningful activity.

The problem of starting out with a negative Monday Mind is that it can last all week. Begin a new week with a pessimistic outlook, and it may still be wreaking havoc on Wednesday or maybe all the way through Friday.

What does Monday mean to you? What kind of a Monday Mind do you have? Is it one of hopeful expectation, or do you have a mind looking for misery?

You do get to choose your Monday Mind in the same way that you always choose your attitude, which is by how you talk to yourself. What do you tell yourself about Monday? Maybe you should choose to be more like a Monday's Child from the Mother Goose nursery rhyme that compares children to the days of the week.

Monday's Child is said to be "fair of face" and fair of face must mean to have a smile. Start Mondays with a smile and a positive thought, and you can chase away the negative Monday Mind for one that is more hopeful about what the day may bring. Try this and see if your week goes better.