Make Your Bad Day Better In 3 Simple Steps

“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes…Including you.” - Anne?Lamott

How is your day going? Is it one of those that began with a good night’s sleep behind it? Has everything been going smoothly since you rolled out of bed??

Picture a “Snow White” kind of morning with birds and animals helping you get your chores done and all is well. Is it that kind of day for you?

I hope so.?

But if it’s not — even if it’s 180 degrees opposite that sort of scenario and it’s feeling like something of a train wreck — you can turn it around.?

Even if you’ve got the weight of the world on your shoulders, even if you don’t have answers to the challenges you’re facing, you can make it a better day.?

I’m no stranger to having days in which absolutely everything seems to go wrong, or to be in the midst of extremely stressful circumstances with potentially life-altering — or even life-threatening — consequences. So I do understand.?

I understand, too, that you can still lift the energy in your day and in yourself — even if it doesn’t make all your troubles disappear and put you on top of the world.

It’s easier than you think.?Ready?

Step 1:

Stop what you’re doing. In any moment that you feel stressed, overwhelmed, or burdened, whether sitting, standing, in a meeting, on the phone — and take a deep breath. Notice where there’s tension in your body. Pay attention to your mood.

Exhale slowly, imagining the tension leaving your body. Imagine your stress dissolving. Don’t think about everything that’s wrong or all the troubles that are weighing you down.?

Right here, in this moment, just empty your head of all of that. Focus your attention on what’s happening right now. I don’t mean “in general in your life right now.” I mean in this exact moment. You are here. You are thinking. You are breathing. That’s all you need for now.

It’s like being a 3-year-old kid staring at a huge buffet loaded with plates filled with food and you’re expected to eat every bit of it. Of course, you would feel completely overwhelmed, daunted, and ready to give up without trying.

But here’s the thing: You don’t have to eat it all at once.

Be that little kid. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath and relax as you exhale. Open your eyes and look at one small plate. Then take one small bite of food off that plate and nibble on it till it’s gone.?

That is your present moment managed. Never mind the rest. The other moments will follow one at a?time.?

They’ll take care of themselves. One after another…after another.

Step 2:

While taking that deep breath, set your intention to create a harmonious life. Set your intention to relax, feel peaceful and find happiness. Set your intention to focus on the positives and shift away from thinking about the negatives.

I’m not suggesting that you should try to forget that you have challenges to face. I’m not saying you should play “let’s pretend,” stick your head in the sand and ignore everything. These will only cause more harm in the long run.

I’m inviting you to take one moment at a time and let go of ruminating on your troubles; they will feel and look worse if you spend more time thinking about them than is necessary to deal with them. I’m inviting you to shift your attention to the positives one moment at a time. I’m inviting you to adopt a more helpful, balanced perspective on the challenges you’re facing.?

If your relationship is in trouble, your job is on the line — or you don’t have one and you need one — if you’re worried about someone who is critically ill (and that “someone” might even be you), put it all out of your head for this moment, right here, right now.?

Step 3:

Close your eyes and listen to the sounds around you. Take another deep breath, filling your lungs and imagining that you are inhaling “calm.”?

Hold your breath for a couple of seconds and imagine “calm” filling your whole body. Perhaps you perceive it as a feeling; maybe you imagine it as white light or silver sparkles. Whatever works for you will be fine.

Exhale slowly, imagining tension leaving your body. Feel yourself begin to relax as you release stress through your exhaled breath.?

Inhale peace and calm…exhale stress and?tension.

If you do this 3–5 times, it will go a long way to helping you relax and feel more centered. The longer and/or more often you do it, the more it can help. And the beauty of it is that you can do this anywhere, anytime — even if you’re driving (minus the part where you close your eyes…of course!).

Summing Up

Any time you find yourself spinning out of control with tension and stress, return to your breath. For just a few minutes, breathe deeply and evenly, focusing on letting all the tension drain out of your body.?

You can’t fix your cranky boss or your overwhelming job or your bumpy relationship in this exact minute. You can’t change those Bigger Picture challenges in the next few moments. Or even by the end of the day.

But you can repeatedly put yourself back in a calm and focused state of mind. You can keep choosing to focus on now, this very moment, and nothing else. This is the art of practicing mindfulness. And it can change your life. It just takes practice — one moment at a time.

The more you do it, the more it will help you cope with any and all challenges you’re?facing.?

If you keep focusing on now, being mindful of each moment and only dealing what is right there in front of you to be dealt with in that very moment, suddenly life doesn’t seem so overwhelming. You will stop feeling as though you have to climb the whole mountain in one leap. Instead, you will see the next small step that needs to be taken.

And as for all the things that seem to go wrong in a day, that’s part of life. Much of the time, your thoughts about those moments will make the difference between a bad day and a good one. If you focus on what goes wrong, you’ll see a terrible day. If you brush them off and focus on what goes right, you’ll see a better day.

Let them go and start thinking about all the things that went right up until this moment. And as the rest of your day unfolds, keep focusing on what goes right. If there are any more glitches, just stop, do not let yourself get bent out of shape.

Take a deep breath, think about all the things that are right, that are okay, that are just fine — and move on to the next moment.

If you keep focusing on what goes right and don’t dwell on what goes wrong, your day is guaranteed to improve. It’s entirely up to you.

Go on. Make it a good day.

Read:?The Truth About Forgiveness: What It Really Means

Original published on?libertyforrest.com

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