It's Just One Bad Day

The other day, and many days like it, I was struggling to find anything positive about the day. Josie hadn't slept the night before, and was grumpy all morning. She skipped her nap at daycare. We had her eighteen month wellness checkup after daycare, and had to wait over an hour to be seen. Josie was overtired, hungry, grumpy, and thirsty so she had several meltdowns in the small, hot exam room. We got home late and she was beyond overtired. I had actually cooked us a meal but Josie threw it all over the floor I had swept while she was at daycare. I was tired, too, as I am off my sleep medication right now. I was irritated with the doctor's office and with Josie, and was counting down the hours until bedtime. Bedtime finally came and all I wanted to do was complain about the bad day I just had. I started a Facebook status, but stopped mid-sentence.

I realized that as I typed out everything wrong that had happened that day, I was only feeling worse. I challenged myself to stop complaining, and to find the positives out of that particular bad day. I recalled Josie and I snuggling that morning. I thought of how nice it was to study quietly while Josie was at daycare. I remembered the self satisfaction I felt as I cooked dinner for us, instead of giving Josie a hotdog again.

I started to feel better, and my status filled with complaints turned into a status depicting my feelings of gratitude for the positive moments of a bad day.

I was ready to type out my complaints about the day and leave it at that. Go to bed fuming and probably wake up feeling just as bad about the day ahead. But, instead, I chose to look for the positives of the bad day I had and focus on the next day, where I would start fresh. Changing my mindset changed the day I had the next day, and changed my attitude.

I could have easily let that bad day turn into a bad week. I could have focused on all of the negative parts of each day and blinded myself to the positives. Had I done this, I would have undoubtedly treated Josie differently, been annoyed with everyone and everything, and been unsatisfied with every day this week.

That would have been an awful way to go through this week. I am so glad I changed my mindset. I am seeking the positives in each day and am letting the negatives go. I am not going to let one bad day turn into a whole week of bad days.

My point is, it's just one bad day. Bad days happen, and will continue to happen. The baby won't sleep or your husband will annoy you. Something will happen at work that gets under your skin. The grocery checkout line will be unbelievably long when you are in a hurry to get home. It's going to happen. But instead of zeroing in on those things, look around them and find the positives. Focus on your baby's smile or your husband's smell. Find self satisfaction in the work you got done at your job today. Use the time you have in the checkout line to be mindful of your surroundings. It's just one bad day, not a bad week, not a bad life.