Truthy Tuesday: Having "one of those" days?

{This is part of our Truthy Tuesday series over at The Maven Circle, where we openly share our struggles and thoughts around a different topic each week. Join us in getting truthy on your own blog, and we'll link up and spread the love!}

Bad day... it's not me...

That's a Radiohead lyric that kept popping up in my head every time I thought about what I wanted to say about having a bad day. And maybe the answer's right in there. Your bad day, your mood, the feeling like fates are conspiring against you and nothing's going your way? That's not you.

There are a lot of external circumstances sweeping us up, diverting our attention and taking our energy away. And when we start focusing on the annoyance and frustration and everything that's not going our way, then the day's going to feel like it sucks, for sure.

I started noticing that my self-care plays a huge proactive role in creating less days where I wake up on the wrong side of the bed. Turns out when you're well slept, getting some good nutrition and making time to center yourself, a lot of those minor annoyances and frustrations that can quickly pile up to a ruined day, slide right off your back instead- go figure!

We have a greater capacity to let go when we feel filled up, taken care of- from that vantage point, we can see what really matters and what doesn't.

But when we're in that depleted space- that haven't slept well, too much to do, no time for me, 3 cups of coffee before noon space- we like to grab on and hold tight to those minor daily frustrations, to all the stuff that's not working out, because it's all we can see in front of us from that state of mind.

We end up putting our energy into whining and groaning and wishing things were different, and that's when the day starts to feel like a bad one.

When I used to get in those funks, I'd try to shove it down, ignore it and just get thru the day ending up crabbier and crabbier by the end of it (lucky are those who didn't cross my path on days like that.)

Now, when I'm feeling funkified, I:

Acknowledge it- out loud. I say "I'm having a crappy day!" or "I'm really feeling stressed out!" and just saying those things out loud triggers something in me immediately that responds- "Ok so, let's change that."

Instead of letting myself just fester in a bad mood like I used to, now I try to detach from whatever's causing my mental drama- whether it's a person, the computer (ugh!), a project I'm working on- I get away from the trigger point and give some space to that feeling of ughness, to figure out why it's there.

Then I give myself something I want: decompression in front of the boobtube, a long afternoon shower, a new flower to plant, new album off itunes, painting my nails, a scoop of ice cream, kitty cuddles- I give myself some instantaneous satisfaction.

Then I give myself something I need: a nap, a walk, a big glass of water, vitamins, stretching, meditation, a smoothie, a dance break- I take a moment and put my energy back into me for a bit.

Usually that's enough to refuel and look on the brighter side of things for the rest of the day. But even if it ends up being the absolute highlight of my day, at least it had a highlight!

Just as much as all the little bad things can tend to bring us down, the little good things in life can boost you right back up again.

So when the day's taking a turn for the worse, I try to remember that the day is what I make of it. And I choose to have a good day, today.

What do you do when you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, or find that your good day is taking a turn for the worse? We all have bad days- let's help each other get through them!

Comments

[Anni]

Love this, especially your distinction between wants and needs. I feel like one without the other can sometimes solidify the funk - like parking yourself in front of the TV for hours on end, or not allowing yourself any guilty pleasure downtime.

[Pocky]

Really good point about the wants & needs! I hadn't really thought about those when I was figuring up how to fix my bad day blues. Funny how you tend to focus on the bad mood instead of taking care of yourself in every way when things seem to be going wrong.

When you mentioned the 3 cups of coffee mornings, I realized something. I love my morning coffee, but when I know it's going to be a headache of a day ahead of me at the zombie job I gravitate towards a soothing cup of tea instead. Might have to add a nice cup of tea to my bad day blues remedies!

[simplemittens]

my husband has always had this perspective and at first it annoyed me but we choose to be in a bad mood and we can choose to get out of it!

[Lea]

I find green tea with honey very soothing also...more than coffee, which is what I tend to run to in times of stress, also just taking a walk, meditating or praying, reflecting on the beauty in nature...

[GeorgiaBite]

Love this post. I find that starting with a quick run round my local park is a great way to clear my head, followed by a trusty cup of tea to bring me back from the dark side...

[Ana]

Hmmm... Good meditation, this post. I find it difficult to bring myself out of the "dark side", but I know that finding a minute to myself helps a lot (better with a little knitting or crochet) and trying to focus on everything that I am lucky to have, instead of dwelling on whatever is missing at a particular moment.