Your car stalled on the way to work, you spilled coffee on your favorite blouse and the assignment you slaved away over was returned to you with a bad grade. To top it off, you burnt your tongue on lunch, your S.O. sent you the dreaded “we need to talk” text, and you can’t remember the last time you got a good night's sleep. You’re overworked, overwhelmed, and so over this week... even though it’s only Monday.
Whatever your troubles are, they’ve got you beat. You’re having one hell of a bad day.
Right now, you may feel as if no one could possibly understand how you feel. It’s true, you probably don’t know someone who has gone through every negative moment in the chain of bad day ugliness you’re experiencing. But you do have one thing in common with the rest of the universe: every person that exists has had at least one bad day, too. The things that make you want to turn your back on the world are also the ties that bind you to every single soul on earth.
Maybe there’s really no salvaging today, but if it’s going to be a bad day anyway, you might as well recover and recuperate for a better tomorrow.
Set a timer for 10 minutes, or maybe an hour if the day is particularly rough. Go somewhere quiet (or at least a different room). Give yourself a change of scenery, and maybe you’ll find a different perspective.
If you’re going to tame the storm in your mind, you’ll have to give yourself something else to concentrate on. You’ve probably heard this before, but taking a deep breath can work miracles. If you’re not into all that meditative mumbo-jumbo, try appealing to your other senses. Feel something soft and squishy, like a pillow, or firm and comforting, like a stress ball. Light your favorite candle and watch that little flame flicker away. Close your eyes and let the sounds of your favorite song swell in your eardrums. Drink some (decaffeinated) herbal tea to soothe your soul.
Sometimes, when we’re rushing about from one responsibility to the next, our senses become fried and overstimulated. By using this technique to occupy our senses, even for a short time, we hit the “reset” button on our brain. The silver lining to having a bad day is if this is really rock bottom, the only place to go is up. You might have had a bad day today, but I promise, brighter ones are still to come.
