Attitude • 7 min read

Rainy Days & Mondays Always Get Me Down!

October 27, 2025

Hello, and happy Monday.

First a quote: “People may hear your words, but they feel your attitude.” – John C. Maxwell

I am fortunate to enjoy a beautiful view out my office window, especially this time of year.

From my desk, I’m able to see the Boise foothills on the horizon, a sheep pasture just beyond our back fence, and the beautiful colors of a gorgeous fall day; a bright blue sky, Aspen trees featuring bright yellow leaves, a row of muted orange Cottonwoods, and a bit of flaming red on a handful of maple trees.

This is my happy place and where I write most of my MMM missives.

So, why am I writing about rainy days and blue Mondays? Because as of this morning, our local forecast is for a rainy weekend lasting through Monday. (And snow is predicted for our mountains.)

After seeing the forecast, I found myself humming a song by the Carpenters released in the early 70’s… “Rainy Days and Mondays Always Get Me Down!” Click here to listen: Rainy Days & Mondays Always Get Me Down!

It caused me to ponder the question; are people’s attitudes determined by weather? By situations? By other people? By Monday mornings?

I spent time reviewing about a dozen research articles on the topic; do rainy days and Mondays have the power to make us blue? Here is a small sample of those articles:

The articles I examined suggest “Monday Blues” are a real phenomenon for many people, although also not considered to be huge problem for others.

For those challenged by the rainy-day & Monday blues, I offer two segments from past MMM articles for your consideration.

From At My Best by Choice, we are “Response-Able” when it comes to our attitudes.

Choose to respond intentionally, not react emotionally.

Between any event (including rainy days and Mondays), and our response to that event, is a small space, a small window of opportunity; it is in that space where we have the freedom to choose our response.

We can react to, and/or with our emotions, or we can choose to respond more intentionally, productively, and proactively based upon our values, vision, and aspirations for the world in which we all live.

Being reactive, or consciously proactive, is a choice we can make all day, every day. Think about the word responsibility… if you see yourself as a responsible person, you are saying you have “response – ability.”

Or, said another way, responsible people are “response able” by choice, they choose how they respond! Intentionally! With purpose!

Even when the world around us seems to be at its worst, we can choose to be at our best.

Not choosing our attitudes intentionally is also a choice!

Not making a choice is a choice made by millions everywhere. We all have bad days, that is life. Sometimes, we let those “bad days” shape our longer-term attitudes.

I see that as a problem for long-term happiness.

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” – Victor Frankl

And, and a segment from: Is Your Attitude Intentional or Accidental?

I was once taught that attitude is nothing more than the outward expression of inward thoughts.

How we think on the inside determines how our attitude is presented on the outside.

I’d like to suggest another definition: attitude is nothing more than a person’s “habit pattern response” to life.

In other words, a bad attitude has become a habit. To change our attitudes, we must change our thinking and our habits.

“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” – Winston Churchill

I’m quite okay with people who occasionally wake up in a bad mood, assuming they have a legitimate reason.

If asked, my wife would tell you this happens to me as well. And waking up in a bad mood happens way more frequently than I’m comfortable admitting. Generally, a cup of coffee, a gentle reminder from Becky, and a little reflection time is all I need to adjust my morning mood.

Here is my power question for your consideration on this topic:

“How many people do you know who wake up in a bad mood almost every day, not because they have a reason, but because waking up in a bad mood has become a habit for them?”

That is a problem!

Attitudes are a choice we make, minute by minute, day by day, person by person. Has waking up in a bad mood become a habit for you?

Maybe it is time for a gentle reminder, a cup of coffee, and a little attitude reflection time for you as well?

Here is my challenge to you for this week: think and act intentionally! If you’re not proud of your recent attitude, choose to be more positive this week and see what happens. Don’t leave your attitude to chance, or habit, this week.

Choose intentionally!

How will you live, love, or lead, differently, or better, this week?

Bonus Quotes Below.

Related Articles:

Sincerely,

Bryan Yager

“Expanding Your Capacity for Success”

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Bonus Quotes:

“Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.” ― John Wooden
“The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes.” – William James
“No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit.” ― Helen Keller
“Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.” – Lou Holtz
“Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.” – Zig Ziglar
“Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.” – Albert Einstein
“You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude toward what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you.” – Brian Tracy
“We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude.” – Charles R. Swindoll
“Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.” – Thomas Jefferson

Bryan Yager 45+ years developing leaders in Boise, Idaho

About

Bryan has spent more than 45 years developing leaders, in Boise and across the country. If this one landed, he works with organizations on leadership development, coaching, and team workshops, and the same thinking runs through his book, How to Transition Into Leadership.