Having a Bad Day? How to
Turn It Around
Bad days. We all have them. We are ALL having them right now. The confusion, isolation, uncertainty… Can I be helping more? How do I help if I myself am stuck? Remember what the world was like before? A bad day used to mean a person was talking on their phone loudly on the seat next to you on the train, or you caught a rainstorm without an umbrella. And now this, a global crisis. It’s almost as if we are all just having one giant, bad day together. You are grouchy and angry and annoyed at the world. But behind the barrage, there is laughter, hope, wellness… we will get through this. The same world we knew is somewhere calling out to us. You just have to listen.
Listen. Turn off the Netflix, power down your phone…Laughter lurks in the background begging you to come out and play. Let it find you. Embrace it… embody the laughter. The ability to conquer the unrelenting critical self-talk, the criticism of others. While the tough times take hold is certainly difficult to harness. Practice love and empathy… hoarding happens from fear… they don’t feel safe and it is not their fault. Call them. Find the phone numbers. Facetime, and laugh together.
Tough times can be divided into months, weeks, and days. Start with your day today. Ask yourself to slow down. Then slow down.
Here are five suggestions on how to turn a bad day around… start here.
1. Get in touch with the survivor in you. Having bad days can give you insight. How did you handle this tough time? What did you learn?
2. The self in adversity is never met in good times. Once met, adversity is not feared rather it is seen as a challenge. Decide to think about taking the challenge on. Then, take it on.
3. If you can’t change something then change the way you think about it. Find something funny about the situation you are in. Even in the worst of times, humor can alleviate the surge of emotional pain and powerlessness.
4. Obstacles are the greatest teachers: Dance with them, don’t get overtaken by their resiliency. Assess, understand, change and take charge! Make a plan for today, tomorrow, and for the time when we will inevitably get through this. This is the flexible self.
5. Turn powerlessness into power: Imagine a positive outcome, share it with others, commit to it and talk the power game. Make that call. Send that text.
Tough times will do what they do… pass. Just like the high emotions that feel like they put our well-being, our lives even, at stake…. they too, will pass. We will be okay. We can get through this together. We are warriors.
“If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles.” Sun Tzu
