Photo by Nik Shuliahin on Unsplash
“Never let a bad day bring out the worst in you.”
I know we’re in the first week of March but I have had the most horrible day this week. And I know you can probably relate (you know those days that every single thing seems to be going south)
Yes, I’m having one of those bad days today and I’m sharing with you what I’m doing to survive it, hoping you can learn from it and apply it to your bad days as well.
I started the morning on a pretty cherry note going about my daily activities, journalling, meditating and finally getting some workout done.
And then I opened my emails. (And this is why you should never open your emails first thing in the morning)
So I open my emails and the first five emails I received were giving me bad news.
The first said my money is stuck in a payment platform and I wouldn't be able to access it for the next 6 months.
The next said that I didn't get approved into a program I was applying for to be able to augment my income.
That’s not the worst thing
I got the last email saying i missed the promo deadline for a program i wanted to join and now it was back to full price.
I wanted to cry.
Big sorrowful tears.
And just wrap myself in a big blanket for the whole day.
Well, I did exactly that though.
But just for 30 minutes. Then I picked myself up and began rewriting my day.
Breathe. It’s just a bad day, not a bad life.”
Here are the six things I did to take control of the rest of my day and shift my perspective on the horrible morning.
Take stock of your losses.
Well, before you say...
‘I thought she just implied that we shouldn't dwell on negativity’
...yes I said that
But I also want to be practical here. So I picked up a pen and paper and wrote down the effect of everything I had lost or had the potential to lose this morning and I really took stock of my losses. Because the truth is things might seem very bad and it might seem like the end of the world but sometimes things really aren't as bad as we think. We need to clearly outline what it is we've lost or may potentially lose so we can plan how to move forward from where we're currently at.
So yes, I had lost the $1,500 off promo. And I had to wait another 6 months to access my money. That was really all I had to lose. And I wasn't dependent on those two things anyway. (Also why it’s great to have passive income by the way)
Ask yourself 'what is the worst that could happen' and then evaluate how much of it is really going to affect you. Then close that chapter and move on.
Be intentional
If you're anything like me, you know it's pretty difficult to move on after something devastating has happened to you. So, what did I do?
I decided to be intentional about what I did with my day.
As a copywriter, I had so many client tasks to attend to. Blog posts, emails and sales pages. I dove into writing them. I planned my day and made sure to include things that would require my focus and attention. This gave me no time to think of my horrible early morning experience.
What could you do to fill in the time you would spend dwelling on negativity?
Give yourself a positivity boost
What's the best way to take bad news away? It's by having extremely good news or thinking extremely great thoughts. This is exactly what I did during my writing breaks. I've been dreaming of having a professional photo shoot done for my personal brand and I spent the next 30 minutes compiling lifestyle photos on Pinterest and getting pretty excited about my shoot. I thought of a nice collection of outfits and contacted the photographer.
Now I have something exciting to look forward to.
“Look for something positive in each day, even if some days you have to look a little harder.”
Think of solutions
If you carry out some of the steps above you should be in a mental state where you're able level headed and able to make some sensible decisions. Some bad days may not be like mine where I can live without the things that have happened. Some bad days are really much worse than this and so this is the time to think of a possible solution to the problem.
1. List all the things you could do to solve the issue at hand.
2. Look through the alternatives and see which ones make the most sense at your current state.
3. Begin carrying out the steps that lead to a solution. One small step after the other is what it takes.
I know it can be pretty overwhelming. But it’s up to you to decide whether the bad days keep you down or make you keep pushing.
Besides, what’s the worst that could happen?
'If it doesn’t mean you’re dead then it’s not the end of the world'
Remember this when you just can’t seem to pull through and know that someone believes you can. (that's me)
And that’s a wrap on a day in my life this March.
Have you had some extremely bad days where you just wanted to curl up or bang your head against the wall? What have you done to make those days better and how did you handle them? Please share with us in the comments so we can learn and have something to do on our bad days as well. Did you take away anything from this post? Please share in the comments so I know you found this article helpful.
“Sometimes, bad days are there to remind us that we have good ones to look forward to.”
P.S: if you want to have more posts like these at your fingertips, get the NewsBreak apptoday and follow me by clicking the button below!
Comments / 0