What to do When You’re Having a Bad Day

By Carlon Haas | September 27, 2007

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Today, one of my friends was having a bad day. It must have been pretty bad because despite talking to me, Mr. Ray of Sunshine, it had no effect. Though I did think that my comment that today was a wonderful day because it was pouring down rain should have encouraged her. To no avail. Am I the only one who likes rainy days?

But anyway….

It happens. In fact, a few weeks ago even I had a bad day (yes, for those who know me, I do experience bad days every now and again). Bad days are rough. You feel like nothing is going right. Nothing makes you feel better. Being productive? It’s not going to happen.

But my friend’s bad day really got me thinking. How do you handle a bad day? What can you do to get through it? Bad days seem like they go on forever. And if you’re not careful, your bad day can turn into a bad week. Or maybe a bad month.

No one wants that to happen. So, I will show all of you today how I get through a bad day:

1. Admit you are having a bad day

Sounds easy, right? Actually, I found this is the hardest part. Usually we look for a reason for our bad day. It’s work. It’s family. It has to be something. But sometimes it’s everything. Don’t start looking for the cause. One bad thought leads to another. Now, one thing might have set off your bad day, but once it gains momentum everything turns bad.

So, just admit to yourself that you’re having a bad day and accept the fact that you are most likely not going to feel much better.

2. Talk to your friends

As I posted yesterday about the value of friends, friends can be a great support system. Once you’ve admitted that you’re having a bad day, venting about it may help calm you. Sometimes just talking about it can make you feel better, but sometimes it doesn’t. If not, it’s OK. It’s always better to share your problems than to keep it bottled up inside. And sharing your bad day can also prevent it from causing you to make bad decisions (like quitting your job…it’s been known to happen.)

3. Use affirmations of truth

OK. What is an affirmation of truth? Well, I just made that word up. An affirmation of truth is simply a true statement that happens to be positive. But rather than trying to tell yourself “positive things” like “I feel great” when you really don’t, I prefer to tell myself true things. For example, “the will rise again tomorrow”. “I won’t feel like this forever”. Or my personal favorite, “well, there goes my productivity for today.” Every statement is true. Positive, as well? I think so.

Grounding positive thinking in reality makes it believable. And when something is believable you can internalize it. To me, that’s the key to thinking positively. Truth is something we should embrace. Embracing the things that are true can keep us thinking positively long after our bad day ends.

4. Go to sleep

This is my cure-all. I go to sleep at the end of the day, early if possible. Once you sleep, the bad day is over. Before I go to sleep. I tell myself that my bad day has ended and it’ll be time to start a new day tomorrow.

However, I never tell myself that I’ll have a great day tomorrow (I’m not a fortune teller…who knows how I’ll feel tomorrow…and if tomorrow doesn’t feel great, I’ll be disappointed which might turn tomorrow into Bad Day, The Sequel). But tomorrow is a new day. And generally speaking, it can usually only get better.

Well, that’s how I get through most bad days. Maybe it’s not the most inspiring method, but it works for me. If anyone has any other ways of getting through bad days, I’d love to hear them.

And to my friend who is having a bad day, I hope tomorrow is a better day for you. You deserve it.

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