Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
Speaker 1: This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is that sometimes having a good day may not
Speaker 1: be possible, But when that is the case, you can
Speaker 1: still aim to take your day at least from bad
Speaker 1: too fine. This can keep a bad day from spiraling
Speaker 1: out of control. Longtime listeners know that I ask my
Speaker 1: guests here on Before Breakfast about how they take their
Speaker 1: days from great to awesome. The hope is that we
Speaker 1: can follow their advice and make our days more awesome too.
Speaker 1: But there are days when awesome is just not in
Speaker 1: the cards. The best you can hope for is to
Speaker 1: salvage a bad day and at least make it okay.
Speaker 1: On these bad days, it is helpful to have strategies
Speaker 1: for maintaining our resilience. We need tools we can use
Speaker 1: to maintain our general sense that tomorrow is another day.
Speaker 1: So figure out what those tools are. What is something
Speaker 1: you have done recently to take a day from bad
Speaker 1: to fine. When I am having a bad day, my
Speaker 1: first strategy is to try a reset. This usually looks
Speaker 1: like going for a walk outside or perhaps a run
Speaker 1: outside if the weather is okay, or on the treadmill.
Speaker 1: If it isn't, I often finish in a much better mood.
Speaker 1: Another good response is to revisit what you intended to
Speaker 1: accomplish that day and adjust. If your plans have totally
Speaker 1: fallen apart at ten a m it is fine to
Speaker 1: rethink your goals, decide on what is most important and
Speaker 1: what you can realistically do. Anything you can't do can
Speaker 1: be rescheduled for a future day. When your new goals
Speaker 1: feel attainable, you may feel better about the rest of
Speaker 1: the day. Since it doesn't feel like a battle to
Speaker 1: do the impossible. You can end the day with some success.
Speaker 1: You did the two things you had to do and
Speaker 1: one bonus thing. When reality exceeds expectations, you feel on
Speaker 1: top of the world. Reality didn't change, but your expectations did,
Speaker 1: and that is fine. Some people like to treat themselves
Speaker 1: on rough days. This could mean taking yourself out for lunch,
Speaker 1: or perhaps cutting your work out a little bit short
Speaker 1: to free up time to sit in silence in the
Speaker 1: steamroom at your gym. Or maybe it's ordering groceries instead
Speaker 1: of battling through a crowded grocery store. Bonus points if
Speaker 1: you not only get the experience of treating yourself, but
Speaker 1: also decide to do so earlier in the day. That way,
Speaker 1: you can look forward to it. Emotional support can quickly
Speaker 1: take a day from bad to fine. Call a friend
Speaker 1: who can give you a quick pep talk, have a
Speaker 1: little laugh for a good cry, and talk through how
Speaker 1: you can handle whatever is troubling you. Sometimes even a
Speaker 1: five minute call can make a big difference. Make sure
Speaker 1: you do this for your friends when they are having
Speaker 1: bad days as well. In any case, I think it
Speaker 1: helps to have a mental list of these strategies that
Speaker 1: you can use, rather than starting to collect points of
Speaker 1: evidence that this day is irredeemable, which then creates its
Speaker 1: own narrative. You can reach for one of your coping
Speaker 1: mechanisms a day when you go for a beautiful walk,
Speaker 1: call a friend and read a funny book. Just can't
Speaker 1: be that bad. It is fine, and sometimes that is enough.
Speaker 1: If you have strategies for taking your day from bad
Speaker 1: to fine, I would love to hear them. You can
Speaker 1: reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. In
Speaker 1: the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's
Speaker 1: to making the most of our time. Thanks for listening
Speaker 1: to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback,
Speaker 1: you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts
Speaker 1: from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.