How to Bounce Back from a Bad Day
You woke up late, missed the bus, forgot to save your report to the cloud before the deadline, served your least favorite lunch, cannot seem to find your mojo during practice, and your phone battery is dead with no charger to be found. Any of these or all of these can take what should be a normal day and turn it upside down. It is the type of day that when you come home, and someone asks how your day was, you either can’t answer or don’t even know how to answer. It was that bad. Sometimes the day just slowly slides down, and for others, the day comes to a sudden stop and turns on a dime into a forgettable day. The good news is that a bad day doesn’t have to keep going down a spiral, and with a little practice, you can pull most bad days out of the nosedive you might be experiencing.
What is a bad day, really?
Think back to the last “bad day” you had. We are not talking about a bad game or other competition here; we are talking about a normal day. When was your last one? If you are lucky, maybe, you will struggle to remember. Some of you may not be that lucky, and you remember with great clarity how one phone call or seemingly harmless text kickstarted the slide. What was it really that started the bad day? Did it start from the very beginning? Did you oversleep or worse, go to bed too late paired with a get up too early? Was it a failed test or a homework assignment that you meant to do but didn’t, and now you are beating yourself up about it? Many people will say that they had a bad day, but when pressed, they can only think of one or maybe two things all through the day that was bad. The rest of the day was fine and maybe even positive, but they dwelled on the negative event; no matter how small it was, it became the center of the bad day. Before we throw the whole day away, label it a bad day, curl up in a small ball, take a minute, and really think about how bad the day is. Did you have a rough morning or uncomfortable third-period class? Is that enough to throw away the rest of the day? Usually, it is not, but you have to be the one who understands that. You must be willing to see the negative and embrace the idea that it isn’t the beginning of the end but rather a small part of the day. Be willing to recognize the bump in the day but don’t let it anchor the rest of your day. How many of you have told someone about your day, and the story started with an event that happened hours ago? Even though it is done and over it is still renting space in your head. Once you can be more realistic with yourself about the day you are having, you can control where the day is going.
Changing the course of the day
Now that you have been honest with yourself about the day, you are ready to pump the brakes and steer your day in a much more positive direction. The key to changing the path your day is going down is to start focusing on the positive. So, you had a chaotic morning, and you were late to school or practice. That doesn’t mean you have to be late the rest of the day. Be realistic; the morning got away from you. It did; own it and move on. You are in control of the rest of the day, right? Once you are where you need to be, then move on and away from the negative. Get back to the work that you need to do; whether it is at school, work, or at practice, you need to get back to work. Don’t spend the rest of the day looking in the rearview mirror; look forward. If you can’t find a positive, you can make a positive. Be on time and ready for the next drill at practice or be early for your next class and be ready to get to work. Make a small positive and start to stack these small wins into making a better day. It is not going to be easy at first and will take some practice, but once you quit beating yourself up after every mistake and focus on the positive while moving forward, it will become your new normal.
No more bad days?
It would be great if there were no more bad days and good luck always found its way to you. However, that is not the reality. Some of these days will be your fault. No way around it; it is all on you this time. Other times despite your best efforts, attention to detail, and flawless planning, you can’t catch a break. It will be hard, if not impossible, to change the course of the bad day, and you will need to get some outside help. If you find yourself having one of those really bad days, it is in your best interest to seek out someone who has a history of helping you get out of the funk. Whether you know it or not, you have a support network. It may not feel like it all the time, but there is a group of people who all want you to be successful. Parents, grandparents, teachers, coaches, friends, teammates, etc., make up your support network. They all are going to help if you are brave enough to let them. Turning to a friend, sharing your worries with a teammate, or talking to a teacher that makes you laugh can slam the brakes on the bad mood that was festering. What if the day continues to spiral out of control? You have done all the positive self-talk and leaned into your support network, but nothing is working; what do you do? Well, sometimes, you just have to hit the reset button. Sometimes you just need to reload and refocus for tomorrow. There will be days where the best thing to do is finish what must be done for tomorrow, pack your bags, and then just go to sleep. Sleep it off! Let the day just fade away, and wake up tomorrow ready to get back to work and stay focused on the goals you have been putting so much energy into.
Bad days will happen. If you truly want to reach your goals, you will need to accept them as a reality, but you don’t have to live with them. With some practice and better habits, you can take a bad day and turn it into a day that truly moves you closer to all of your goals. It doesn’t have to be the best day to be a good day.
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How to Bounce Back from a Bad Day
You woke up late, missed the bus, forgot to save your report to the cloud before the deadline, served your least favorite lunch, cannot seem to find your mojo during practice, and your phone battery is dead with no charger to be found. Any of these or all of these can take what should be a normal day and turn it upside down. It is the type of day that when you come home, and someone asks how your day was, you either can’t answer or don’t even know how to answer. It was that bad. Sometimes the day just slowly slides down, and for others, the day comes to a sudden stop and turns on a dime into a forgettable day. The good news is that a bad day doesn’t have to keep going down a spiral, and with a little practice, you can pull most bad days out of the nosedive you might be experiencing.
What is a bad day, really?
Think back to the last “bad day” you had. We are not talking about a bad game or other competition here; we are talking about a normal day. When was your last one? If you are lucky, maybe, you will struggle to remember. Some of you may not be that lucky, and you remember with great clarity how one phone call or seemingly harmless text kickstarted the slide. What was it really that started the bad day? Did it start from the very beginning? Did you oversleep or worse, go to bed too late paired with a get up too early? Was it a failed test or a homework assignment that you meant to do but didn’t, and now you are beating yourself up about it? Many people will say that they had a bad day, but when pressed, they can only think of one or maybe two things all through the day that was bad. The rest of the day was fine and maybe even positive, but they dwelled on the negative event; no matter how small it was, it became the center of the bad day. Before we throw the whole day away, label it a bad day, curl up in a small ball, take a minute, and really think about how bad the day is. Did you have a rough morning or uncomfortable third-period class? Is that enough to throw away the rest of the day? Usually, it is not, but you have to be the one who understands that. You must be willing to see the negative and embrace the idea that it isn’t the beginning of the end but rather a small part of the day. Be willing to recognize the bump in the day but don’t let it anchor the rest of your day. How many of you have told someone about your day, and the story started with an event that happened hours ago? Even though it is done and over it is still renting space in your head. Once you can be more realistic with yourself about the day you are having, you can control where the day is going.
Changing the course of the day
Now that you have been honest with yourself about the day, you are ready to pump the brakes and steer your day in a much more positive direction. The key to changing the path your day is going down is to start focusing on the positive. So, you had a chaotic morning, and you were late to school or practice. That doesn’t mean you have to be late the rest of the day. Be realistic; the morning got away from you. It did; own it and move on. You are in control of the rest of the day, right? Once you are where you need to be, then move on and away from the negative. Get back to the work that you need to do; whether it is at school, work, or at practice, you need to get back to work. Don’t spend the rest of the day looking in the rearview mirror; look forward. If you can’t find a positive, you can make a positive. Be on time and ready for the next drill at practice or be early for your next class and be ready to get to work. Make a small positive and start to stack these small wins into making a better day. It is not going to be easy at first and will take some practice, but once you quit beating yourself up after every mistake and focus on the positive while moving forward, it will become your new normal.
No more bad days?
It would be great if there were no more bad days and good luck always found its way to you. However, that is not the reality. Some of these days will be your fault. No way around it; it is all on you this time. Other times despite your best efforts, attention to detail, and flawless planning, you can’t catch a break. It will be hard, if not impossible, to change the course of the bad day, and you will need to get some outside help. If you find yourself having one of those really bad days, it is in your best interest to seek out someone who has a history of helping you get out of the funk. Whether you know it or not, you have a support network. It may not feel like it all the time, but there is a group of people who all want you to be successful. Parents, grandparents, teachers, coaches, friends, teammates, etc., make up your support network. They all are going to help if you are brave enough to let them. Turning to a friend, sharing your worries with a teammate, or talking to a teacher that makes you laugh can slam the brakes on the bad mood that was festering. What if the day continues to spiral out of control? You have done all the positive self-talk and leaned into your support network, but nothing is working; what do you do? Well, sometimes, you just have to hit the reset button. Sometimes you just need to reload and refocus for tomorrow. There will be days where the best thing to do is finish what must be done for tomorrow, pack your bags, and then just go to sleep. Sleep it off! Let the day just fade away, and wake up tomorrow ready to get back to work and stay focused on the goals you have been putting so much energy into.
Bad days will happen. If you truly want to reach your goals, you will need to accept them as a reality, but you don’t have to live with them. With some practice and better habits, you can take a bad day and turn it into a day that truly moves you closer to all of your goals. It doesn’t have to be the best day to be a good day.