We all have bad days. Days that make us want to close the door on the world, turn out the lights, curl up in bed and say goodnight. Days that make us ask why nothing ever goes right. They make us ask, why is life so hard?
The numbers of things that can result in having such a day are innumerable, and what may seem like the end of the world to one person may warrant a simple shrug of the shoulders from another. However, when a bad day strikes, for whatever reason that it may, there are a few things to keep in mind that make a world-ending day not seem so bad.
1. Time passes, and the day will eventually end
On my bad days, I find myself counting down the hours until I can go home and take a breath. For me, this puts the day into perspective. It helps me to remember that a day is only a day. 24 hours. That is nothing.
2. A bad day will not likely matter in the long run
Will this matter in 3 days? Will this matter in a week? In a month? A year? Sometimes the answer is yes, but more often it is no. Screwing up at work or doing poorly on a test has a way of hitting someone where it hurts, but in the long run, these mistakes will not matter. You’ll forget about them, and so will anyone else involved.
3. Bad days and mistakes do not define a person
It is really easy to beat yourself up on bad days. I often replay the scenario in my head wishing that I could change it. I go over the things I could have done differently, but there is nothing that I can do once the mistake is made. For this reason, I always try to remind myself that bad days do not define me, and more importantly, bad days do not define my self-worth.
Everyone makes mistakes. If we chose to dwell on those mistakes then life would be much more difficult for everyone. Therefore, it is important to remember who you are in spite of your mistakes. Choose to define yourself in ways that you are proud of. This may be through identifying yourself as a good athlete, a compassionate person, a child of God, a talented singer...ect. What you should try NOT to define yourself as is a person who makes mistakes.
4. Bad days are a learning experience
Bad days are not something people want to repeat, but most, if not all of us, are destined to have a bad day here or there. I try to learn from my bad days. This may be going over the mistakes I made to ensure that I do not make them again or reflecting on the way I have reacted to situations that created the bad day.
In either case, I know that I will be more prepared in the days to come. I will not make as many mistakes, and I will be more emotionally ready to handle the lame situations thrown in my path. No matter what, I learn.
Bad days are, well, they are bad. They are an obstacle everyone has to face, and sometimes, they have to power to completely shut someone down for a little while. However, putting the day into perspective, reminding yourself that a bad day does not define you, and trying to be positive can have a lot of power in making a bad day seem remarkably less so.
