Let’s be honest. Monday is nobody’s favorite. When someone is crabby on Monday, we accuse them of having a “case of the Mondays.” The Cure suggested Monday was the perfect day to fall apart, The Bangles accused it of being the most manic day of the week.

Just when the future of Mondays was looking pretty bleak, along came a group of people on a mission. A mission to do what, you ask? A mission to make Mondays matter.

And just like that, MAD (Make a Difference) Mondays were born.

MAD Mondays are a weekly excuse to “Go MAD” by participating in random, simple acts of kindness that make a difference in someone else’s life - be it friend, family or a stranger.

The Every Monday Matters website even offers 52 suggestions (one for each Monday of the year) full of inspiring ideas on how to celebrate and elevate your Mondays. The ideas range from showing your smile to adopting a pet, giving a hug to creating (and enjoying!) art.

A quick Google search reveals countless stories of people on both the giving and receiving end of the Monday MAD-ness... “Several months ago a coworker and I went through a drive through for lunch.  When we got to the window, we were told by the cashier that the gentleman in the car ahead of us had paid for our meals.  He said he was in the military and just arrived home from being overseas.  He explained that he'd been so blessed by acts of kindness while he was away that he wanted to begin returning the favors as he could.”

"I have a neighbor who leaves her trash bags in the hallway of our apartments. Yes I could report it. Yes I could ignore it. But this morning? I just carried the two full bags to the dumpster when I was walking to my car I went past her open window. I could hear her crying. She seemed to be talking on the phone, because I heard no one responding to her. I did not linger to hear the details, but it seems her teenage daughter is in trouble. I had just been feeling annoyed that she had left her trash in the hall. And now? I hope that somehow my little act of kindness helps her feel even the slightest bit better."

Going MAD is simple. Opportunities abound. Buy someone a cup of coffee behind you in line at Starbucks. Send a letter of gratitude. Bake cookies for your local fire department. Help someone. Share something. Choose to begin your week by making someone else's week just a little bit better. Become an active and frequent practitioner of good karma building, smile inducing and world betterment.

It's Monday. Today you have a few options. You can embrace your case of the Mondays and wallow under a little Monday raincloud. You can throw yourself into neutral and try to just survive the day. Or you can make your Monday matter by making a small contribution to the world that leaves it a slightly better place than when you rolled out of bed this morning.

I vote for the latter.

How will you go MAD today?