What defines a bad day?
It’s six AM already. Again. Your hair is a mess and there’s no time for a shower. The line is six persons long, and you are last. You are in a hurry, and need coffee to take the edge off. These people are obstacles. The espresso machine is down. Great. Traffic on the way to work is jammed and you are stuck in a hot car next to someone blasting their music like everyone else is enjoying their noise. You are late to work and on your race to the office, a butterfly collided with your windshield. You feel like crying. A friend bought lunch, the rest of the day went smoothly, and you got off work early. Yet, your day was tainted by your morning. Lack of sleep left you drained; you worked like a zombie, and thought about your bed every half hour. When asked if you had a good day, you have to think about it. The bad parts of our day tend to linger in our minds.
Bad days can begin happy and take a turn for the worst…
Imagine that your mood is directly related to one daily goal. Making a sale. You wake up leisurely, stretch, shower, eat breakfast at your favorite coffee shop. There is no line. You have time to sit. You ride a bike to work, so you don’t have to worry about traffic. The weather is perfect. This is a beautiful morning, the start of a wonderful day. You work in retail, and your job depends on customer service. Sometimes you make sales all day and ride your bike home with a triumphant smile on your face. Today, you make no sales. When you arrive home, your wife knows you are grumpy because you made no sales. This has ruined your day, despite your pristine morning.
When we examine the small details we hold dear in our daily routines, we realize how trivial they are in the big picture. If a wrench is thrown in your path and your day collapses, understand how very fortunate you are for this one bad day.
Bad days are inevitable, as are good days. It is important to be grateful for both. Without darkness, there can be no light.
Next time you have a bad day, remember that a good one is around the corner.
–SJB