We’ve all had a bad day at one point or another. It’s always those small annoyances that tend to collect up all at once and really manage to throw us off track. Your car breaking down, forgetting to buy milk for your cereal in the morning, getting caught in a heavy rain shower without a coat…
When things go wrong, the trick is to think of them as isolated occurrences in your day, not let them necessarily define your day and thus avoid succumbing to the negativity. As this will only be a surefire way to ensure your day is bad.
Of course this is always easier said than done. Generally we need an extra bit of encouragement to get us back into a positive mindset after being knocked of track. We have a few tips to get you back on track when everything seems to be going wrong...
Listen to your Favourite Song
Music has that magical ability to transport us to a happier place - Perhaps it’s your wedding song, the song you sang at karaoke after a few glasses of wine or that song you and your best friend danced your hearts out to at a party.
Either way, pick a song that is upbeat and of importance to you. If you listen to a sad song it might only exacerbate your mood and drive you to tears!
Turn off Your Phone
There’s no denying that the 24/7 nature of social media can be a bit stressful from time to time. The last thing you should do when your day has gone off track is start subjecting yourself to photos of friends-of-friends relaxing on a beach in Spain and a constant stream of negative new stories. Sometimes the best thing to do is just completely unplug yourself and turn your phone off for a while.
There’s always the temptation to vent through text about your day to your significant other or best friend but sometimes this does more harm than good through how you are essentially re-living the worst parts of your day and getting angry about them all over again! Save it for a couple of days layer when you’ll finally be able to laugh about it… hopefully.
Go for a Walk
The ultimate option to clear your head and feel refreshed is to just step away from it all and go for a walk. Whenever your feeling down, burying your head in a pillow might feel like the more preferable option but once you start walking you’ll start to feel a bit more relaxed and separated from your problems.
Laugh
When you’re feeling livid about having to fork out money for a parking ticket, laughing might not seem within your reach. But when the day has got you down sometimes we need to retreat to something light-hearted and just have a laugh. Luckily for you there exists enough funny videos for a lifetime on YouTube.
Gain Perspective
In the aftermath of things going wrong, stopping and asking ourself questions like “will this matter in five years time?” and “is this really as bad as I’m making it out to be?
Whenever things go wrong, we can tend to over-dramatise and think the absolute worst. Sometimes asking ourselves these questions and even talking it over with a friend can help us see the bigger picture and relieve our stress.