We all have days where we wished we would have stayed in bed. For some, all it takes is a little dreary weather, and the blues start cropping up. Or, maybe a series of small incidents and setbacks during your morning routine has thrown your entire day off balance. Either way, once you’re stuck in a rut of negative thinking, it can be incredibly difficult to turn your day around. Still, all is not lost. There are a few ways to salvage even the most seemingly hopeless day, and it all begins with changing your perspective.
1. Understand that situations are temporary.
Even the most dire of emotions has a finite timeline. To take the stress out of your day, take the time to momentarily understand and embrace how you’re feeling. Lean into the muck for just a second and allow yourself to feel authentically. Then, realize that no emotion lasts forever and most likely, something that feels monumental today will feel quite minimal tomorrow. Life has a way of ebbing and flowing, and learning how to accept the good along with the bad is key to striking a healthy balance. For an instant mood booster, remind yourself, “This too shall pass.”
2. Give others the benefit of the doubt.
If someone cuts you off in traffic and you’re already having a bad day, that can feel like just another person who’s out to get you. Yet, remind yourself that everyone is human and we can’t possibly know or understand the intention behind every action of someone else. That rude driver might be having a bad day himself. Or, he might be rushing in traffic to get to an emergency. Likewise, the woman who didn’t hold the door for you or the co-worker who exchanged a cross word with you might be struggling with something that you can’t possibly know about. To that end, remember that even when something negative happens to you at the hand of someone else, there’s not always a cruel intention behind it. That can help make you less self-conscious and self-deprecating, and instead encourages you to be more understanding, patient and generous.
3. Remove the weight of dread.
We can shift into a bad mood simply by thinking ahead to some of the difficult things that lie before us. It’s the reason behind the “Sunday Blues” wherein we start thinking about all of the tasks we have to do at work on Monday, making it difficult to really enjoy the rest of the weekend. The weight that dread holds can be all-consuming and crippling. For some, it’s just a nervous feeling that creeps up and lingers until the anticipated event is over. For others, it’s an unshakable feeling of anxiety about nothing at all. Sometimes, we can’t even put our finger on the exact thing that we dread. We just know that we’re worried and concerned all of the time and it’s putting a negative spin on our mood and outlook. If you find yourself in these shoes, a method such as self-hypnosis can help you recenter your outlook, reclaim your happiness and squash that feeling of dread for good.
4. Live in the moment.
Piggybacking on the step above, as much as you can, remember to live in the present without looking too far behind or ahead of you. Why? Looking behind you and remembering things past can leave you regretful over the way certain situations occurred. Conversely, looking too far forward can conjure up those unwelcome feelings of anxiety and dread over what the future holds. Instead, take a look around and try to note between three and five things happening in this very moment that you can be grateful for and find happiness and peace within. For some, it might be the face of a happy child. Or, it might be the way the wind is moving the tree leaves or how the sun is shining on the grass. Even the smallest things can be enough to turn around a bad mood if we remember to focus on them and prioritize the here and now over any “what-if” or “what will be” questions.
Ultimately, turning around a negative perspective starts from within and it’s not a transformation that anyone can make for you. The next time you find yourself overwhelmed by to-dos, anxiety, stress, and negativity, remember that it only takes a tiny pivot to start enjoying your moments as fully as possible. It starts within your mind and radiates throughout your entire being, so by changing your thought pattern, and you’ll change your entire day.
Courtney Myers is a freelance writer focused on spurring conversations about life, positivity, spirituality, and the pursuit of happiness.