A Few Ways to Turn It Around
Some days, we wake up, and things just don’t go our way. Maybe you attend a meeting and just don’t understand what others are saying. Maybe your lunch plans fall through, so you end up eating a sad freezer meal that you really didn’t want. Maybe that sad freezer meal spills broccoli water on your jeans, and you didn’t have a napkin nearby, so you had to watch it soak in and now you have to walk around with broccoli jeans for the rest of the day.
We all have bad days, which is ok. What’s not ok, is when we let our bad days impact others. Just because we have broccoli jeans, doesn’t mean we have to walk into our next meeting and snap at Jay for asking an innocent question. We can turn our scowl into a smile before it starts to affect everyone else’s moods.
Here are a few ways you can do that.
1. Laugh
Stop and take a moment to laugh. Look up a funny joke or find a funny clip on YouTube or TikTok. Find something that will make you smile, then chuckle or giggle, then full belly laugh. Laughter has a slew of benefits physically, mentally, and socially. For the purpose of helping turn your day around, it helps improve your mood, relieve stress, and ease anxiety and tension.
If you’re interested in learning more about the benefits of laughter, you should contact Nancy Hanna to learn more about Laughter in the Midst!
2. Think of something you’re grateful for
The attitude of gratitude. We’ve talked about it before, and it especially applies when it’s hard to do. When you’re having a bad day, you can get bogged down in all of your negative emotions, but taking just 5 minutes to stop and think about something or someone you’re grateful for, or write in a gratitude journal, can make you happier, increase your self-esteem, and enhance your positive emotions. If you take those five minutes every day, it starts to get a little easier on the bad days.
3. Tell someone then move one
There is strong research that we should be talking about our emotions to help us process through them, but we also need to be cognizant of how we have these conversations. If you have a trusted friend at work that you can let it all out to, this is a great way to help turn around your bad day. Make sure, though, that you give yourself a stopping point. Don’t let this turn into constant complaining which will bring down the rest of the day for you and possibly your friend. Tell them what’s going on, and then move one.
Bonus hint - when you’re talking, remember to talk about the nice as well as the not-so-nice! What good has happened today? What are you grateful for?
4. Take a moment for self-care
Sometimes when we’re having a bad day, really all we need to do is stop and take a moment for ourselves to check-in. How do you self-care? Here are a few ways we at Your Clear Next Step like to take a moment for ourselves.
5. Take a walk - shift scenery, fresh air
As we get into the colder months this one gets a bit more challenging, but if you can, take a walk. Stand up from your desk or workspace and move. Get the endorphins running, shift your scenery, and get a little fresh air. If it’s too cold for fresh air, try taking a walk to another part of the room or building. Take a few moments away to move, reset, and restart. A moving clarity break is a great way to try and turn around a bad day.
How about you? How do you turn a bad day around? Let us know in the comments below!
