Stop Having Bad Days

“Being happy doesn’t mean that everything is perfect. It means that you’ve decided to look beyond the imperfections.”

It seems like everywhere you turn people are not happy. When you ask them how they are doing they usually shoot back a response like, “I am have a bad day” or “Things have been better”. If you dig deeper, you will find that people are unhappy because of many different reasons such as:

• Money problems
• Relationship issues
• Sickness in their family or themselves
• Unsatisfied with their current job situation
• Don’t like their boss
• Watching too much TV or listening to news
• General stress

These reasons pop up throughout our daily routines and contribute to us having a bad day, but I propose that you stop having bad days. Just have bad moments in your day. The reason for this mindset is that many times you cannot control the issue when it arrives in your day. If you allow the issue to fester is can actually paralyze you which causes more issues. This could end up triggering an “Issue Avalanche.”

Here are a few tips on how to not have a bad day but just a bad moment in your day.

1. Money problems: Many money issues are caused by us because we want to live a certain lifestyle that we haven’t earned. Evaluate your spending and then find little areas where you can cut back. Take the money you were spending here and place it into a savings account. This little act begins to multiple and you begin to accumulate wealth. David Bach calls this the “Latte Factor” in his book Finish Rich. It is a little act that can give you a boost if you are having financial issues.

2. Relationship issues: The best way to handle a relationship issue is to address it head on. If you dance around it, many times the issue you or your partner has isn’t fully discussed. Sooner or later the issue appears again. If the issue cannot be resolved, you must either accept it or move on. Don’t keep sweeping it under the rug because you will just end up with a huge pile under a rug. This pile will cause sickness and disease which will lead to more problems even death.

3. Sickness: This is a tough one. Recently I watched a coworker go through this with her son who had testicular cancer. It was terminal. I watched her as she bored this burden daily. The amazing thing was that she still smiled and fulfilled her duties daily. As I observed this behavior I decided to ask her how she does it. She said right now my focus is to make every moment that he has left the best moment of his life. He doesn’t need to see me mourning for him while he is still living. WOW! She decided to control the issue with a positive attitude. I am sad to say he passed on, but my coworker still has the same attitude. Her attitude has had a huge influence on me.

4. Job Situation: Recently I hired a gentleman that had been out of work for seven months. His first day in the office after training we asked him to introduce himself and let everyone know a little about him. He explained how happy he was to have a job after being out of work for so long. He made me realize how lucky I was that I had a job. It made me realize people should not complain about their job. If they are that unsatisfied with their current employer, then change it. Do everyone a favor. Stop rocking the boat and start rowing.

5. Your Boss: Yes, I will agree there are bad managers out there in the workplace, but don’t let them steal your mojo. You may not be able to control who you work for or what they do or say, but you can control your response. Stay focused on your results and hopefully the people above you will notice and place you into a different position. Who knows? Maybe you will end up your boss’s boss.

6. TV or Radio: These mediums can depress people because most of the news is negative. What your brain takes in you become. This can dramatically change your mood and attitude. If you feed your brain doom and gloom, you will feel doom and gloom. Do yourself a favor and allow for some quiet time to program your mind with positive things. Meditating or reading something “positive” will allow your mind the chance to counteract the negative information you will take in during the day.

7. General Stress: This is the “Life” factor. There are going to be many things that you cannot control that you will face that can bring you down. Stop at that moment and do a quick check on whether or not you can control what has happened. If you can then do something about it. If you can’t, face the fact that it is out of your control. Happiness is about learning what “things” you can control and controlling them.

Remember when you are having a bad day, keep in mind that there are many people that would gladly change positions with you. The next time you feel you are about to have a bad day, stop to think about the other people that would gladly change spots with you.

Any day you have the chance to touch your feet to the ground, you are blessed with a gift. Enjoy it!