Do you ever have those days where everything is going wrong all at the same time and you just wish there was a “re-start” button for your life? Those fun times when your baby is sooooo needy and you are on your last nerve trying really hard not to lose it. You wake up tired and grumpy and shit just keeps happening and you can’t get it together. Yup. I’ve had days like this. They suck.
But guess what, it is possible to turn things around and feel better!
I want to share the three keys I’ve learned for pushing the re-start button on your no good rotten day.
3 Keys to re-starting your day:
Key #1: Break up the negative energy using your body.
When your day is starting to make you feel really crazy, use your body to “interrupt” the energy created by the hard stuff in that moment. Everything, when broken down to it’s smallest elements, is energy. This key is all about interrupting that vicious cycle of negative spirals that happen when a day starts to go down the drain.
How to interrupt the energy? Start with your body. You need to use movement to change the energy in your body dramatically. It’s the most efficient way to break this spiral. During those rotten days your body probably feels either depleted and exhausted or hyped up, tense and sick. To shift this, movement is crucial to recovering.
Choose the best activity to fit your needs in the moment. Below are just a few samples of movement you can choose.
To break up energy that is connected to your body feeling depleted or exhausted:
- Do jumping jacks for 60 seconds
- Hula hoop for 6 minutes
- Put on your favorite upbeat song and dance like crazy
- kick a soccer ball as hard as you can into a wall
- Do a few yoga flows or poses
- take a slow walk around the block. breath in your nose and out your mouth
- Close your eyes and sing a the same verse of a favorite song over and over for at least two minutes (Here’s an example of a song that works for this:
- Do some simple stretches for 5 minutes. Start with the part of your body that feels most tense.
Key #2: Stop dwelling on the stuff you don’t like
It is really easy to start throwing yourself a a pity party when things start going wrong but that is a Very Slippery Slope to allow yourself to go down.
The truth is, I know you have EVERY reason to feel sorry for yourself. I will never tell you that you don’t have a right to feel what you feel. It’s actually important to acknowledge what you are feeling. (By the way, all feelings are acceptable, even the ones we think negative or “bad”).
The important part is not allowing yourself to get caught up in feeling sorry for yourself that you are having to feel the way you feel. Instead, notice the feeling, acknowledge it and accept that, for right now, you just feel crappy.
Basically, you are telling yourself, “Yes I feel crappy but I refuse to let that make my whole day bad.” Then look for little things that make you happy or grateful. Turn your attention to that and keep returning when your brain wants to keep feeling sorry for you.
Key #3: Accept that sometimes a day is going to feel bad.
Arguing with reality never ever gets you the results you desire. The more you complain either to yoruself or outloud to someone else, the more power you give to the negativity resulting in you feeling even worse. In contrast, accepting that being alive means that things aren’t always going to go well, that some days will be hard and make you feel some difficult emotions is a soft response that helps you feel better.
I have to be honest. Key #3 is the one I struggle with the most. Like almost every single day. But I’ve learned a lot and have so much more to say that can’t fit in this blog post! If this topic has been helpful and you would like to learn these Keys with more support/detail, let me know in the comments!
Now that I’ve shared my keys to re-starting a bad day, I would love to hear yours. Have you been able to push re-start? What keys did you use?
Reply in the comments below!
