When was the last time that you had one of those days that was going all wrong? Maybe you are having one right now. Or maybe, you’ve gotten into a rut with your mood and mindset, and you’re having trouble breaking free?

We all know that your outlook on life, or your mood, affects more than just yourself. It affects everyone that you come in contact with.

I’m definitely speaking to myself when I say, “There’s really no place for a rotten, negative attitude in life”. Especially when you have children who are watching your every mood and listening to your every word.

Let’s get into five of the quickest ways that I have found to change your mood and your outlook, and end your day strong and happy.

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First impressions matter. I’m sure you’ve already heard of Grant Kessler. He’s the eighteen-year-old man who dressed in a suit and tie to go to the hospital to meet his new niece for the first time.

When asked why he was dressed in a suit, Kessler told USA Today “While everyone was dressed casually, I was wearing a suit. I do think that first impressions matter a lot and I wanted Carter (his new niece) to look back on that day with photos and see the attention she was getting.”

Words that immediately come to mind when I think of this young man are sweet, thoughtful, respectful, proactive. Aren’t these the characteristics of all the best first impressions?

It’s Twice As Hard To Change a First Impression

Think back to the last time someone gave you a bad first impression. Whenever this happens to me, it’s always difficult to let go of that initial impression and form a new one.

We’ve been conditioned as a society to “trust our gut”. So letting go of a bad first impression and forming a new one goes against most people’s instincts.

So what does this mean for you and for me? How can we ensure that our first impression is a true representation of our character?

1. Be Presentable, Always

While it’s true, there may be times when you know you will be meeting someone for the first time, there are plenty of other times when you are unexpectedly introduced to a new person.

Always be presentable. You don’t have to be in full Instagram makeup, but be presentable, even if you are just running to the grocery store, or dropping off a child at school.

If you get into the habit of making yourself presentable on a daily basis, you will always be ready for what life throws your way.

2. Don’t Downplay a Compliment

Let’s say that you are dressed nicely, accessorized, perfumed, made-up, and coiffed and you happen to run into either an acquaintance or you meet someone new (woohoo! you look amazing!).

Because most people are unaccustomed to seeing a person look amazing outside of church or the office, she will most likely say something along the lines of “Oh my! You look amazing!” or some other compliment.

Do NOT downplay a compliment. You KNOW that you look amazing! You are the one who set aside extra time this morning to ensure that you look amazing, so don’t say something silly like, “Oh, this old thing.” or “Well, I had to use extra eye cream for the bags under my eyes this morning”.

Smile your dazzling smile, say “thank you!”. And then move on to another topic of conversation. Accept the compliment graciously.

3. Don’t Apologize For Your Appearance

Now let’s say that you are caught unawares. (Oh, the horror!). Whatever you do, do NOT apologize for your appearance.  When you apologize for a sloppy appearance, you only make the other person uncomfortable.

You know how it goes, you say something along the lines of “Oh, I don’t normally look this sloppy! I was in a rush this morning.”  The other person then has to say, “Oh no! You look great! I wish I looked half as great as you!”

You know that the other person is lying. The other person is annoyed because you basically just forced her to lie. Your initial bad impression (from your sloppy appearance) just got even worse because of your self-deprecating remarks.

So, what do you do when you are caught looking less than your best?

4. Even If Your Appearance Isn’t Perfect, Smile and Sparkle

If you are caught looking less than your best and you run into anyone, even someone new, smile and let your personality shine!

Be polite, be inquisitive (ask the other person about herself), be witty, smile, smile, smile! By the end of the conversation, the other person will have most likely completely forgotten what state of dress she caught you in, and only remember your caring and sincere attitude.

To sum it all up, first impressions matter. But first impressions are not only about physical impressions but also about emotional connections. If you present yourself as a confident, caring person, that is what will be remembered.

If you present yourself as an apologizing, self-deprecating, self-absorbed person, that will be remembered, along with the appearance that you continued to draw attention to.

Do your best to always be presentable, and you won’t have to give a second thought to running into someone while you are out. But if you are caught looking less than your best, let your personality shine, and you will be just fine.

May I be honest here? I used to hate Mondays. I didn’t just hate them, I despised them, loathed them. I woke up on Monday morning with a dread-filled heart. If I could just sleep through the whole day I would have. Week after week.

I’m trying to think back to when exactly I started hated Mondays, and I really can’t pinpoint the time. It most likely happened as a child, because really, who wants to go back to school on Monday after a fun-filled weekend?

As an adult, the same thought pattern applied. I didn’t want to get back to the grind and slog through that first day of the week. Doesn’t everything always go sideways on Monday?

When you are a stay at home mom, you’re all alone since your husband went back to work, so all of the home and child responsibilities fall back on your shoulders. This is a really heavy burden to bear. At least on the weekends, you get to share the burden.

Everything that could go wrong on Monday generally did, and even if it didn’t all actually go wrong, I built Monday up to be such a big, bad monster that it FELT like everything went wrong.

I was completely swamped by my awful Monday Mentality. It became a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Just like I cannot pinpoint when my Monday-hating began, I also cannot pinpoint when it ended, but it’s only been less than a year.

Let me let you in on a little secret. I kinda love Mondays now. I anticipate them, I reach for them, I grab onto them, and then I squeeze the living daylights out of them. I get more done on Monday than every other day in my week. I won’t say it’s a breeze, it’s not.

Things still go wrong, but I refuse to let those Monday Mishaps derail my amazing Mondays. So what’s changed?

Monday is a Fresh Start

Somewhere along the way I stopped thinking of Mondays as the weekend party crasher and started looking at Mondays as the start of something great.

You know how everyone always looks to January 1 as a fresh start and a new beginning? I have a January 1 every single week! It’s my opportunity to try harder, reach deeper, work smarter, tidy up better, read to my children more, eat healthier, and exercise more.

This is the day that I whip my house back into shape after a weekend of relaxing, and I have the energy to do just that because over the weekend I was…relaxing!

Instead of New Year’s Resolutions, I set New Week Resolutions, and you know what? I hit them way more often than I hit New Year’s Resolutions. It’s funny how only having 7 days to accomplish a goal can motivate a girl.

Dress For the Monday You Want, Not the Monday You Have

Another way that I make my Mondays amazing is by dressing the part. If you’ve read much on my blog you know that I get dressed and set every day, but I take a little extra time on Monday.

I don’t just look presentable on Mondays, I look fantastic. When I look fantastic, I feel fantastic, and when I feel fantastic, fantastic things happen. It’s just the way life works.

You don’t need to get dressed to the nines, but tie on a scarf, or put in a pair of sparkly earrings. Try just one small thing on Mondays to make yourself a little more polished and see if it doesn’t help your mentality for the rest of the day.

Take No Prisoners

On Mondays, in order to bring the household back under control, I have to shift into “take no prisoners” mode. This doesn’t mean that I turn into a drill sergeant and start yelling at the kids.

Just the opposite. Kindness is the law of the day. There is absolutely no room for frustration or tempers, they only kill the mood and slow me down.

Whenever a mishap happens, and it will, clean it up as quickly as possible and move onto the next task. This is one of those times, Mamas, that you are teaching and leading your children through example.

If something goes wrong in your day, like a mess, a spill, an injury, etc. and you handle it with grace and a smile, your children are watching, and they are learning. This is where the term “grace under fire” originates.

Teach your children grace under fire every single Monday.

Your attitude is only half of the “take no prisoners” equation. The other half is about resetting your home. I mentioned earlier that I relax on the weekend, and it is true.

Unless we are having company on Saturday or Sunday, I keep the laundry going, and we all do basic maintenance (dishes, pet care, and keeping the living room picked up), but the clutter around the house starts to accumulate, and the kitchen generally isn’t swept, and the living room isn’t vacuumed.

So there is some work that needs to be done in order to get the house back to 10 minutes until clean. I do my best to get this done early in the day with the children’s help. We take back control of the house, but we do this with an attitude of dominion, not of servitude.

The attitude makes all the difference.

Is it time for a Monday Morning Mindset change in your home? Like all major mindset changes, it’s best to start out small and with a change of perspective. Start out by looking at your Monday as a fresh start and see where that takes you.

Prepare to be surprised, and be prepared to surprise your husband. Mine still has a hard time believing how much I love my Mondays now.