One of my favorite children’s books is Judith Viorst’s Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Bad days — we all have them. These are the days when it seems like so many small things are going wrong and it all adds up to what seems like an overall bad day. But it is really? Here are some ways to reset your own bad day and make it an overall good day after all.
1 – grab a journal or notebook or just some random piece of paper and write down everything that is on your mind. You don’t even have to keep this paper — tear it out and throw it away if you want to. The idea here is to get it out of your head, onto the paper and let it go. Rant, complain, make a list of every irritating thing that is happening — whatever comes to mind.
2 – adopt the motto “it could always be worse.” For every bad thing that happened today, think of something that would be worse. Give thanks that it isn’t worse! For example: if your dog pooped on the floor — be thankful for your dog’s unconditional love while you’re cleaning up the mess. If your child spilled the milk — be thankful that you have your child and your home and table and towels or paper towels to wipe up the milk. If you snapped at someone, be thankful for having that person in your life and apologize.
3 – going along with the idea of gratitude, think of one good thing in your life or one thing that is going well. Try to do this for every bad thing you can think of. You will be amazed at all the small, simple good things for which you can be grateful.
4 – get outside and take some deep breaths. Bonus points for taking a walk outside.
5 – if it’s raining, still try to stand some place where you can stay dry and just watch the rain!
6 – read a few pages of a book that is inspiring and uplifting to you. Here are some ideas:
Girl, Wash Your Face,
Girl, Stop Apologizing,
The 5 Second Rule,
G’Morning, G’Night!: Little Pep Talks for Me and You
Becoming
You Are a Badass
If you prefer to listen, try listening to any of these books on Audible!
7 – take a different route home from work or drive through a different part of town. Look for things that you think are pretty or that make you happy.
8 – turn off the news. Sometimes news shows, especially cable news, just makes you feel even worse! You can let it go for a day. Watch a funny show or movie instead, if you want to relax with TV.
9 – consider your use of social media. As you know by now, posts on social media are someone’s highlight reel. (Not always, but very often.) So if scrolling through social media and looking at pictures or posts of people who are smarter/prettier/better organized/more successful/a better mom, etc. etc. etc. brings you down, STOP. Either don’t scroll through or hide the accounts of or unfollow those that just make you feel worse. You can always follow them again later if you really want to. But understand that seeing someone else’s “best day ever” post is not going to help you improve your own day.
10 – do some healthy things for yourself. Drink water, eat something healthy (probably vegetables or fruit) that fit your eating plan, get some exercise (a few yoga poses and/or a brief walk counts), and go to bed early. Try to NOT add to your stress by eating or drinking things that will ultimately just make you feel worse.
11 – call or text someone who always makes you feel better. Sometimes just talking it out with someone who loves you or being reminded that they believe in you is all you need.
12 – do something you enjoy but that is not part of your routine. Buying prepared food from Whole Foods or Fresh Market instead of cooking dinner yourself. Eating outside instead of at your dinner table. Taking a bubble bath instead of a shower. Buying a small gift for yourself.
A bad day can be turned around! Try one of these tips next time you’re having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day and let me know how it goes!