So you’ve had a bad day…
It’s been one of those days where it feels like the worlds is working against you. Everything is going wrong.
The day started off well enough. You were met by hugs and kisses from your little ones and they sat and watched a little television while you started making breakfast. But that’s about it. That’s where the good day stopped.
Right in the middle of making breakfast, the baby started crying…again.
She’s in that painful stage where she’s cutting new teeth every single day. No amount of Orajel
So you wrap her up in your Moby Wrap and start cooking breakfast.
Then you smell something…something not right. Then POP! The toaster oven starts smoking and goes dead.
You rush over and notice that the back of the little oven has been getting so hot, that it burned through it’s own power cord.
Really?!
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You remove the offending small appliance to the back porch, for fear that it might engulf in flames at any moment. You head back inside, but the knob won’t turn.
Your heart sinks when you realize the door is locked. On the other side, you hear your toddler…”I turn lock! Lock! Lock! Lock!”
There you stand, locked outside, barefoot, bra-less, phone-less, with a screaming baby.
No! No! No! This can’t be happening!
You look around in a panic and run to the sliding glass door on the other side of the house and beat on the door with all your might. You need to get your son’s attention.
I have to get back inside!!
After flagging down the toddler and half yelling half playing a game of charades, he’s finally able to flip the lock and open the door.
Over the next few hours the bad things continue. A broken plate, a spilled coffee, a hurt child.
The amount of terrible things happening is getting ridiculous.
You’re at the end of your rope, and it’s not even lunchtime….
This has got to stop!
How to Survive When You’re Having A Bad Day
As I go through these tips, remember this one very important thing, you can’t change what happens to you, but you can change how things affect you.
Take control and stop letting world dictate your mood. Here’s how.
1. Breathe
Breathe, Mama, Breathe.
Stop, slow down, and take some intentional deep breaths.
When we get stressed our body releases stress hormones that trigger our sympathetic nervous system. This triggers our body to be on high alert and on edge. Our hearts beat faster, which causes blood to rush through our body.
We become hyper focused and ready to pounce at anything or anyone that gets in our way.
The best and quickest way to calm our bodies is taking deep breaths.
2. Write Down The Good
On days like this, it’s so easy to focus only on the negative things happening to us that we overlook the good things.
Studies have shown that humans hyper focus on negativity. Even if just one bad thing happens among a thousand good things, we will still focus on that one bad thing.
Combat this by taking a few minutes and writing down good things that happened during your day. Find at least 3 things you’re grateful for and write them down too.
This can help you refocus and look at your day in a new light.
I like to keep this list with me, especially on really hard days, as a reminder to focus on the good.
To get you started, you can download my free gratitude journal here.
3. Do Something Just for You
Self-care has to take priority on hard days. Take a minute of your day and focus on you.
Don’t be afraid to turn on the tv or set your kids up with a great independent activity so you can get a small break.
- Take a shower
- Drink hot tea, or wine
- Read a book
- Do a hobby
- Exercise
Do something that fills your cup and makes you feel awesome. When our cup is full, we can handle life’s frustrations with more grace.
4. Vent
Sometimes we need to tell others about our bad day. It just feels good to get it out.
Call a friend and tell her all about how terrible of a day you’re having. Vent, cry, and even scream if you have to.
Having a safe person who can hear you and say “oh man that sucks” can be extremely healing.
The trick is to not stay in that negative space. Follow up the conversation with some good problem solving or practice finding the positives in life. Don’t get stuck in the negativity.
Bad days are terrible and unavoidable. But with these 4 tips we can survive them with grace and joy.
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I love the gratitude journal idea! It is always helpful to redirect our minds to the good instead of dwelling on the bad.
A superb post, Amanda. I need to share this with my best friend who has 2 sets of triplets. There are days I see her tearing her hair out!