If we were to live until the age of 80, that means we will spend about 29,200 days on this earth. And with so many days in our life, we are bound to have bad ones every now and then. I’ve had my share of bad days too. I remember driving to work one day, another car bumped me from the back. After settling everything, I continued my journey again, and 5 minutes later, another car bumped me from the back again. I’m quite sure everyone has their share of difficult days. For some, the alarm clock never went off, or perhaps you are suffering a broken heart. You might be having trouble at work, the traffic is bad, or your children couldn’t seem to ever behave. The whole world seems to be against you. These are issues we are facing on a regular basis.
While we can not fully control how our days go, we can always be prepared should we ever experience a bad day. There are three R’s we should always keep in mind when a bad day hits us:
– Remind
– Release
– Realize
1. Remind:
Remind yourself that you are not the only one experiencing bad days. I recently gathered with a few people in a church small group fellowship. We talked about this topic, ‘How to cope with a bad day’. We all took turns sharing about our bad days’ experiences. Everyone had their stories to tell. Some talked about how their office’s work and colleagues ruined their days, some talked about the traffic, and some talked about other unfortunate events. Whatever it is that makes people have a bad day, it is clear that we are not the only ones experiencing it. So we should remind ourselves that it is normal to have a bad day every now and then, after all, everyone experiences it too.
Remind yourself too that today will soon be history. Pay attention to your previous bad days. Even as far back as you can remember. You got through them all, didn’t you? That means you will get through the one you are experiencing and the ones in the future too.
2. Release:
It is always a good idea to find ways to release your tensions and frustrations. It’s never good to keep it inside. It will make us resentful and frustrated.
So when you are facing a bad day, try to release the tension by talking to someone you trust. And preferably someone who is a good listener and not to quick on the advise department. It will help take away some of that frustration you are feeling.
While talking to someone is a very effective way to release our tensions, in some circumstances we can not always do that. For example, if we are inside a meeting room or a class room, or on board an airplane. In these cases, you can try releasing your thoughts in writing on a piece of paper. Write every feeling you have at that moment. If you are angry at something or someone and you feel like venting out your anger, by all means, write your heart out on that piece of paper. And when you are done writing, take that paper and you can tear it to pieces and head to the nearest waste bin, say a little prayer. Ask God to help you get rid of all that unwanted feelings. Then you can throw it away.
Another way to release is to go for exercise. It is always a good idea to do exercise no matter what the reason is. I have a friend who goes looking for the treadmill when she’s having a bad day. She would just start running and pounding that treadmill machine. And I have witnessed it myself that 45 minutes later, she was all smiles. Her problems were still there, but somehow, she has found a way to release some of that tensions away by doing something worth while like exercise to make her feel better.
3. Realize:
Always realize that somewhere out there, some people are having it worse than you. After talking to some people about the things they go through, I realize that most of the time what I go through is nothing compare to what some people are going through. Just imagine people who got a phone call that their loved ones just got into a bad accident. Or a guy who got news that he has just been laid off from his job while his wife is ill in the hospital. I could go on and on, but I believe you get the point. Somewhere out there, somebody is having it worse than us.
Realize too that a bad day may just be a gift. It may be an alarm that tells us to slow down a little bit. It may teach us to humble ourselves. It may teach us to get along with others or accept that other people are entitled to their opinions whether we like it or not. But one thing for sure, a bad day will teach us patience and perseverance. We will have more patience when we learn to endure the things we don’t like, and we will have perseverance when we keep fighting to get through that bad day to get to another day in hopes that things will be better.
In conclusion, we can not control how our day goes. We can expect the best always, but just incase something unexpected and unwanted happen, remember the three R’s. Remind yourself that you are not the only one experiencing bad days and that today will soon be history. Release your frustrations by talking to someone, writing it on paper, or even exercise. And be quick to realize that somewhere out there some people are having it worse and a bad day can actually be a gift, for in it we learn patience and endurance.
Try Humor too, it helps
Have a nice day now!!