I had a bad day today. It was tough. I wasn’t sure how I would get out on the other side.
Here’s how I survived.
No Stranger to Bad Days
I’ve been dropped by a flying squid into a toxic lake. I’ve been chased by reanimated driftwood, accosted by mutant pirates, and surrounded by angry beasts more than once.
And did I mention I’m a zombie? As they say, this isn’t my first toxic glow.
Me saying “I had a bad day today” is like humans saying “I had a day today”. You know, I say that, but it’s really not been that bad. What some call a bad day, I call an adventure: a really scary, heart-pumping, didn’t-I-have-clean-pants-when-this-started adventure.
Just like I shared the secret to loving what you do, there is a secret to surviving a bad day. The next time you find yourself uttering the phrase “I had a bad day today,” you just need to follow 3 simple steps.
Surviving a Bad Day
Now, I’ve talked bout the 3 biggest benefits of having fun at work and why fun at work matters, but what we’re talking about here is different. Struggling to enjoy work is one thing; having a bad day where it seems like everything is against you is another.
It’s like earlier today when I made it out of DoC’s lab after a crazy day of experimentation, fell into toxic Larry Lake, was chased by a scorse (a scorpion-tailed horse to you zombie newbs out there), and was eventually picked up by a flying squid and dropped right back into Larry Lake. If you’re like me, sometimes saying “I had a bad day today” seems like an understatement.
In order to survive a bad day, you need hope. After all, if you knew that all your problems were going away tomorrow, it wouldn’t really matter how bad today was. A bad day isn’t bad because it’s bad.
A bad day is bad because it feels normal. It feels like this is just how life (or undeath) is and we just have to accept it. Hope changes what feels permanent and makes it temporary.
Embracing Hope
The next day you find yourself saying, “I had a bad day today,” follow these simple steps to make it better.
- Find the Good: Reframe your day. For instance, a flying squid abduction is a free flight.
- Remember It’s Temporary: Put the day behind you; prepare for a better day tomorrow.
- Hold on to Hope: Find the good parts in your future that you can hold on to.
A bad day is just that – a day. At any moment it can change, and if it doesn’t, go to bed, get some rest, and prepare for a better day tomorrow.
