How to Turn Around a Bad Day

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How to Turn Around a Bad Day

We have all had those days before, the kind of day where nothing is going our way. Maybe we began the day with the best intentions and did everything we possibly could to ensure the day starts as a success. However, no matter how hard we may try, our day starts off on the wrong track. The good news is, it doesn’t have to stay that way. Nope you can have a great day and I am going to share with you exactly how to turn around a bad day! 

The Reality Of It All

Sometimes I feel like when it rains it pours? And when the rain comes it usually is my own doing. While, I have been doing A LOT of self-work over these last few months to evaluate my processes and systems I use daily to try and figure out a way to get a better hold on all the things (and that conversation is for a different day because I do want to go there and share all the things that have been helping me so much!) THIS POST is all about what to do in those situations where everything seems to NOT be going your way. Today I am going to share with you how to turn around a bad day in 6 simple ways.

Because We Have All Been There

Because we all have been there. That day where nothing is going our way. And for me when this happens, I think to myself, in the moment when I realize things are taking a turn for the worse, how I just need to be better, and not be as sensitive, and to not allow the circumstances to define my response.. To define my reaction.. To define my attitude. I think to myself how I need to just easily shake it off, and not let it impact the rest of my day. But that is way easier said than done.

Why is it that it is more comfortable to sit in the pit of our feelings on our hard days. Obviously, we would all feel a lot better to be released from those feelings and have a great day, but why is it SO hard to walk out of the bad, and turn the day around. 

So here are 6 sure ways to help turn around any bad day. These are things that have worked for me personally as well as just general good ideas of things to do to maintain simplicity and a sense of norm on the days when it feels like you have no control over anything else! 

6 Sure Ways To Turn Around Any Bad Day 

1. Find something that exponentially radiates JOY.

The first way to surely turn around any bad day – find something that exponentially radiates JOY. We all have that thing in our life, the thing that no matter what can bring us joy. The thing that no matter the mood, no matter the state of despair, this one thing is constant, this one thing is true, and this one thing can bring joy to the situation. When you find yourself having a bad day and are in desperate desire to turn that day around – shift your mind and attention to the thing that brings you JOY! 

To everyone this is going to look so very different. We all have the thing that we turn to, the thing that our heart & soul needs to be revived and revitalized. For you it may be your faith. You may have that one go-to playlist on your phone that you can instantly turn to to boost your spirits, or it may be your favorite podcast that you can instantly play to bring you joy.

Or maybe it’s a close friend or loved one that you talk to, that their voice alone serves as a beacon of hope on a dark day. Maybe it’s a video you listen to on your phone, or a photo from a happy memory that you look back on. Or a saved message or note of encouragement from someone in your life that can speak to your soul and bring life to your dark day. 

Second Step to Turn Around a Bad Day –  Shift the focus off of you. 

This one right here is SO incredibly important and truthfully, I believe the number one way to turn any bad day around. Shift the focus away from you and turn it to someone else. What if we immediately turned any bad day into an opportunity to pour our heart and souls into someone else. What if we took our negative energy, our bad mood, and dug deep into our heart of hearts to focus on compassion and love and empathy to those around us.

Can you imagine how much better of a world we would live in if our own immediate reaction to unfortunate circumstances wasn’t to throw our own self-pity party, but instead to devote our thoughts and feelings towards something greater. To something with more impact.

Whether it is focusing your attention towards a specific charity you are passionate about, or going out of your way to help someone else, or make an effort to truly spread kindness by being intentional in the lives of those around you. I can assure you the fastest way to turn around any kind of bad day is to invest your focus and your attention towards the needs of someone else! 

3. MUSIC 

The third way to turn around any bad day – listen to music. Music is so incredibly powerful. And while I am a big lover of silence, I can easily sit in the car somedays, (the days where I am not listening to my favorite podcast episodes) and just sit with my own thoughts and the sounds of the road, there is so much power in the sound of music and the lyrics of words.

Think about how your entire mood can change just by listening to one song. J and I can be sitting outside on our back deck after dinner, just talking, and that one Ben Rector song starts playing that makes us both stop in our tracks, and have the urge to get up and slow dance with one another, or the other song that will play and transports us back to driving through Colorado and Utah.

The Power Of Music

Music has the ability to transport us out of our current emotional spot and into an entirely different realm. Whether it’s listening to the playlist from high school and feeling all the feels, or playing your absolute most favorite song on repeat while on the drive to work, I feel like music is a secret weapon that is so often underused.

Wwith the ease and accessibility these days, whether through Spotify or Apple Music to create endless playlists, I encourage you to have playlists set up that you can go to and use on the days where you are struggling to turn your day around on your own. As long as you can hit play, then let the music do the rest for you. And I can assure you- your day will most quickly turn itself around. 

#4 – How to Turn Around a Bad Day – Have a HEART to HEART with yourself.  

Does anyone else ever talk to themself? I know we all have our own internal conversations all the time, but I am wondering if anyone else ever has a conversation with themself aloud? Because I sometimes. I think there is power in speaking words aloud as opposed to keeping them as voices under the skin. The number four way to turn your bad day around is to have a heart to heart with yourself.

This is a little more simple, yet a whole lot more personal. When you are having yourself a day and everything seems to NOT be going your way, take a moment and check in with yourself. Be real, be honest, don’t be afraid to admit where you messed up. Dig deep into your own emotions, confront your own insecurities and be incredibly raw and vulnerable with yourself to yourself.

And once you have done that, once you have come face to face with the raw and the nitty gritty, then become your own biggest cheerleader. And from that point give yourself the encouragement that only you can give. The pep talk from your heart to your heart.

I feel like this is something that we always are hesitant to do, but it is so valuable and so important. When we come face to face with the things we are feeling it allows us to confront it head on, deal with it in its entirety, and then rise above it. So the next time you are having yourself a day, be sure to have a heart to heart with yourself and know that the capabilities to overcome all the things you are feeling lies within you. 

5. FUEL your body 

It can be SO tempting on the days where it feels like we are fighting the WORLD and then some, to want to neglect the important things. It can be easy to turn the attention away from hydrating ourselves properly or eating the right kinds of foods because I know for so many our appetites can be directly linked to our feelings. But on the days where everything seems hard it is the MOST important to be sure to fuel our bodies the right way.

Hydration

The simplest of ways to start is to make sure you are drinking plenty of water. Leave your favorite reusable water bottle at your desk at work, or always have an extra clean, reusable water bottle in your car. That way if you forget, you still have something to stay hydrated with. And fill it up. Drink it often. Make it an intention to drink more water than usual that day. Fuel your body and treat your body with the respect that it needs.  If drinking water is hard for you, I love the Liquid IV hydration multiplier packets – they are SO tasty and SO efficient at getting your body replenished quickly.

The Right Kinds of Foods

In addition to hydrating properly, make sure you make a point to fuel your body with the right kinds of foods every day, but especially on the days where moods are getting in our way. It can be SO tempting on our bad day to want to indulge in ALL the things or forgo certain meals altogether.

This is why, the next time you find yourself having a bad day, be so incredibly intentional about taking care of YOU, taking care of YOUR BODY as by doing so will not only make yourself feel a whole lot better, but you will be treating yourself a whole lot better, and it is way easier to turn a day around when you physically feel good and feel physically at your prime! You deserve to be the best version of yourself, and fueling your body the proper way can help you get there! 

6. TREAT yourself.  

Alright, the sixth way to turn around any bad day – this one is most definitely what you were wanting to hear. Treat yourself. Yes, right after telling you the importance of fueling your body the correct way, I also believe in the importance of rewarding yourself and indulging. So, when you are having a bad day and everything is NOT going your way, be sure to treat yourself. Think of this as a physical extension of grace to yourself. What is something that you can do you know will be a GIFT?

Is this in terms of an actual tasty treat? Maybe you pick up a decaf (or caffeinated) iced coffee on your way home from work because we all know you didn’t have time in the morning) or maybe you pick up your favorite to-go meal for dinner. Or maybe you indulge in your favorite kind of ice cream. Maybe your form of treating yourself means a relaxing bubble bath with a book and your favorite kind of beverage.

Or maybe you treat yourself by putting your phone away once you get home and become fully present with your family. Maybe treating yourself looks like going to bed much earlier and allowing yourself to get the rest and sleep that your body deserves. Or maybe your version of treating yourself includes ALL of the above and that is absolutely okay. Great, even. Just whatever you do, be sure on your next hard day, the next day where things are not going your way, you actually take the time and treat yourself because you most definitely deserve it! 

Bonus:  One More Way To Turn Around Any Bad Day

Okay, I actually have ONE more sure way to turn your bad day around – I know the title of this episode is 6 Sure Ways To Turn Around Any Bad Day, but as I sat down to draft out the episode, 1 more reason popped into my head and it was too good to not let go, and I already had recorded the video & audio for the second episode which contained the preview of this episode’s title. So in this case, take number 7 as an extra little bonus, my gift to you as a BIG thank you for being here and listening to The Best Day Podcast. 

7. Journal It Out. 

I am a BIG believer in the power of writing things out. There is something extremely significant that happens when you take the thoughts, feelings, emotions of the brain, and give them words, and place them on paper. It’s as if the actual thoughts, feelings, and emotions of the brain are given permission to leave your head space, and take a new residence on that paper.

Once that is done, you don’t have to carry them with you any more. While you may still feel certain things in regards to the situation, you don’t have to carry around the heavy burden or the weight of it all. This is why journaling is SO good. With journaling – it doesn’t need to be perfect, it just needs to be done.

Journaling

So the next time you find yourself having a day where nothing is going your way, and you are feeling all the big feelings and big emotions. Take a moment, find a place of quiet, and let your thoughts translate to your pen and write it all out. And once you have, once you have done so, and your thoughts, feelings, and words have left your brain and moved to the paper, let them stay there. Don’t give your mind the permission to hold on to them any longer! This is such a powerful way to be able to turn around any bad day. You can check out more here on my favorite reasons to use a journal in your daily life! 

You Can Turn Around A Bad Day and Make It a Great Day!

Well, there you have it friends – how to turn around a bad day. My hope is that something of this episode spoke directly to your heart in an encouraging way. I hope that on the next day where you find yourself starting to spiral as all the things start to quickly fall out of place that you can remember these words, hold on to them, and use them as a source of inspiration and a point of reference to be able to stop, take a hold of your day, and implement a few of these strategies to TURN your day around.