Last updated on March 9th, 2020 at 12:11 pm
Can’t help but repeat that bad day song (well at least the one lyric I actually know: You had a bad day na na na na”) in my mind over and over again as I’m writing this…It’s stuck in my head and I genuinely hope it goes away at some point. Whether you’re having a bad day at work or not the best day in general, these 7 things can help you turn a bad day around and make it a better one. Even if it’s 9 pm.
We all have them – those days when everything seems to be going wrong and like the world is somehow conspiring against us. Blame it on Mercury retrograde, on that menstrual cycle, the moon phase or on your shitty boss who likes to scream at everyone for no apparent reason, some days are just off.
But are they really? The last days I felt things were really off were the 2 days when I had kidney colic, aka kidney stones. Now those were two sucky, really miserable days.
But, as bad as those days were, I tried to squeeze the most out of them, because I was on vacation and there were things I wanted to see and experience during those precious 2 days. Even if we had to stop the car every 20 minutes, so I can throw up and pee.
When you have a bad day, you still have the right to decide you can change it. No day has to be bad or hated. We do have limited time here and it’s not worth extending that misery.
Do you realize that 80 years (about the average human lifespan) are approximately 29,200 days? That doesn’t sound like a lot, does it? It’s not even in the 100,000s. Don’t let too many of those 29,200 days be bad or wasted.
7 Ways To Turn A Bad Day Around
1. Zoom Out
When we really dive into negative thoughts, experiences and dissect every little bad thing that is happening to us, we forget there’s a whole other world out there. That world knows nothing about our problems or our lives. It keeps on moving. And that’s good – so will you.
This world, this life is much bigger than one tiny bad moment. When you realize this and look at life as a whole, you’ll be able to move on with ease.
2. Do Something You Love That Requires Some Effort
Even if you don’t feel like doing anything, make yourself put an effort into something you love to do. Something you know usually makes you happy.
Maybe you like dancing, maybe swimming, maybe you like to hike, cook or play basketball. Maybe there’s an event, a movie or a meetup you intended to go to. Do those things!
These things usually require more effort than looking at Instagram or watching Netflix but they’re also a million times more rewarding. You never know what opportunities life will bring your way when you go outside of your home and your comfort zone.
According to research these effortful activities also bring long-lasting happiness, so on that bad day – put in the effort.
3. Give Yourself A Makeover
Do your hair, your nails, put on a face mask. You might feel it’s superficial, but looking better makes you feel better. Don’t underestimate it.
4. Finish Something You’ve Been Procrastinating On
If you’re a procrastinator and have these nagging thoughts that circulate in your brain every day – do something about them. You’ll feel a sense of relief, pride and you’ll gain some confidence from beating procrastination and finally doing “that thing”.
I bought a huge wardrobe last year and it stayed packed and locked away for 9 months. I could’ve made a tiny human during that time. You won’t believe how good it felt to put this thing together and get it off my mind and my weekly to-do list. It took less than a day. Now let’s see how long it takes me to actually use it.
5. It’s Also Okay To Do Nothing
So I talked about the effortful way to be happy, but once you’ve done that, it’s okay to also just do nothing. It’s also okay to simply watch a funny movie, an inspiring TED talk or to read a book.
6. Dream & Make Plans
For whatever reason dreamers have a bad reputation. The big dreamer I am, I was always embarrassed by this and felt like it’s a bad thing. But then I read somewhere dreams are actually the things that drive progress. You can’t create something new if you can’t imagine it first. So on that bad day, allow yourself to dream and to make plans for the future. It will turn that day around.
7. Gratitude
So cliche, but it works. Gratitude goes hand in hand with zooming out. Take yourself out of that bad-day-mentality and name a few things you’re grateful for in your life. Things you have right now, things you’re happy you’ve experienced and things you’re looking forward to. This will help you move past that stage.
So I really hope you’re not having a bad day today – but if you do every once in a while, I hope you found some inspiration here.
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