Do you remember "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day?" by Judith Viorst? Well today I can relate. Among other things, I was late for a meeting this morning because of snow/traffic, and I think its entirely possible that I broke my toe at noon when I dropped a big glass bottle of milk on it...right on the edge of the bottle too. Those are just two of the highlights (or would they be low-lights). Nothing horrible or earth-shattering (toe shattering maybe - but still) just enought to make me crabby.
The topic for today is not my bad day. You can read a million (literally) blogs and posts about why somebody's day sucked. My challenge today is how to get out of it.
We all have crappy days. Sometimes for good reasons, sometimes for no reason at all - but here is the big question - how do you get past it? How do you set about turning your day around, not by chance or fate, but by intention?
Sometimes you can just forget about it and move on - other days just seem plagued (today would fit that description). I have mentioned my mentor - the late Bill Sauer - in this blog before, and days like today remind me of him. Bill's advice to me would be to just observe how I am feeling and what it happening, not to label it as "good" or "bad" but just as "is". He used to say "rocks are hard, water is wet" it is not something to dwell upon - it just is.
Perhaps a "bad" day can be viewed through the same lens. What if we were able to view a bad day as a day - neither good nor bad, but rather part of the experience that makes us who we are. I think that it is entirely possible to not "allow" yourself a bad day - to push through it and ignore the fact that you are off or cranky, but I also think that if you simply dismiss how you are feeling that you miss an opportunity.
I'm not suggesting that you wallow in self pity, or partake in wanton crabbiness, biting the heads off of friends, family or co-workers - not at all. Rather, what I am advocating here is an observational self-awareness. The process of watching my moods and thoughts as though I am a disinterested third party. Imagine yourself floating above yourself and just watching, without judgment. Merely being in a state of awareness of thought, feelings and moods. Step back for a moment and say to yourself "boy, that seems to have struck a nerve. Interesting." Notice it, and then let it go. You can gain some great insights on your "triggers" and, at the same time, diffuse the emotion of the event.
Interestingly, I am having a better day already - even if my toe still hurts.
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