How do you turn a bad day into a good one?

“If you don’t like how things are, change it! You’re not a tree.” ~Jim Rohn

Sometimes your day just goes bad. It might have started out that way when you rolled out of bed, or it could have taken a turn for the worse once you got into work. The key for high performers is that you turn it around and not wallow in it. Studies have shown over and over again that positive people are more productive and more likely to get promotions. But here’s the dirty secret they don’t always tell you:

They aren’t always positive.

Most people that know me would be surprised to know that I struggle with stress and anxiety myself. The fact of the matter is, great leaders and great employees know how to turn a bad day around when they run into one and here are 10 ways that you can do it too:

Accept it, it happens – Acknowledge and move on. We’re all human, which means we’re going to have bad days. The most amazing people you know have bad days, so you’re in great company. Don’t let it get you into a negative mindset where you start thinking it only happens to you and you’re doing something wrong. The only wrong thing is to let yourself stay there longer than absolutely necessary (which isn’t that long).

Pinpoint the problem – What happened? Did you and your spouse get in an argument? Did you get too little sleep? Did someone cut you off on the way to work? Did the barista screw up your latte? Not only does knowing what went wrong help you address it right now, it also helps you discover your “triggers” so you can get ahead of a bad day in the future.

Take action – One of the most constructive things you can do when faced with a bad day is to take action to address what got you there. Too many times a bad day can spiral out of control and you are left wallowing in everything that is going wrong and how uncontrollable the situation is. When you take action, you take back that control and you are forced to look forward to a goal, not back at everything that’s wrong.

Change your routine – If you want to change the momentum of your day, you’ll likely need to change…well, something. Go outside and take a few deep breaths. Take a walk on your break. Get up early and exercise. Read a motivational book. Watch a motivational video on YouTube. A great way to snap yourself out of your “funk” is by doing something different.

Find your latest success – Switch your focus from the bad to the good. What successes have you had recently? If your boss is coaching you on your performance and what you can improve, think about other things that he/she praises you on and focus on those qualities while addressing your opportunities at the same time. One of the best ways of preventing a bad day is to nurture enough positive momentum so that when something happens that would usually tip your day into a “bad day” you already have so much good momentum going on that it rolls right off your back.

Find a way to laugh – Laughter is healing to the soul. Life is too short to not enjoy it! Laughing instantly reduces the levels of stress hormones such as cortisol, epinephrine (adrenaline) and dopamine, and increases the production of serotonin and endorphins which reduce effects of stress. (The Benefits of Laughter)

Take turns telling a joke of the day, hold silly events, play funny games, ask the office funny person for a joke, etc. Laughter is a great way to break yourself out of the rut.

Get a few quick wins – Winning is almost as good as laughter for getting you in a good mood. Remember that action we talked about above? If it is difficult to take action against the cause itself, sometimes just getting a few things off your plate in a successful way can help. Pick your most important / difficult task and tackle them first! Doing so will make the rest of your day seem so easy and you’ll build a bunch of positive momentum.

Gratitude – A little perspective can turn a bad day around. Listing out the things that you are grateful for is one of the best ways to get that perspective. Yes, you’re having a bad day at work, but do you still have a great job? Are you still providing for your family? Do you have good health? Good friends? If you can focus on the great big things that are going right, you might find what spun your day “bad” really isn’t that important.

Talk to a friend – Pick up the phone or go walk over to someone’s desk and just shoot the breeze with them. Spending time around people you like and conversing about topics you enjoy will calm you down and bring a smile to that face. We don’t do life alone, and this is a great reminder of that. It’s important to surround yourself with positive people who will lift you up rather than people who will drag you down.

Learn from it – Lastly, try to learn from the experience. Bad days often occur because of mistakes, and mistakes are some of our primary material and motivation to learn. When you have a bad day, realize that you’ve been given an opportunity to learn something, so take advantage of it. Turning a bad day into an opportunity turns around the end result.

“Never let a bad situation bring out the worst in you. Be strong and choose to be positive.”

Dale