Welcoming a bad day...

I will start posting more on social media as I continue to grow my coaching business, and I'm only dabbling in it now while I work on behind the scenes stuff.

Anyway, I've shared a few funny TikTok videos on my Instastory.  

On Monday, I posted one of a kid who kept getting cracked in the head by the lid of the trash can because of the wind, and I said something about it representing the type of day I was having. Pretty funny.

But then I received several responses to it along the lines of:

"I'm so sorry you're having a bad day, hang in there! I'll send positive vibes."

"Oh, man, it must be tough. The day is almost over; don't beat yourself up."

I was confused and couldn't quite understand why there was such a strong reaction to me having a "bad" day. 

It was just an off day. My focus was scattered, I didn't sleep well, so I was a little tired, and it was just one of those days. 

It took me a hot minute to understand and I think it was because most of us believe we should only have good days, right? I thought that for the majority of my life. If I wasn’t happy something had gone horribly wrong. I used to really resist bad days and it looked a little like this:

😫 Complain to my coworkers about how awful things were

😫 Abandon my schedule for the day and go into "survival mode"

😫 Catastrophize everything - my thought chatter would be intense AF (nothing good EVER happens to me, everyone else has it easier/better, I hate all of this, there has to be more to life than this...super fun)

😫 I would feel resistance and frustration at every stage of the game

😫 I would wallow in misery all day and watch the clock

😫 And then I'd hit up my favorite Mexican restaurant for a 5-gallon bucket of queso and enough chips to feed an army so I could numb out. I felt like that was the only way I could get some relief and happiness for the day (all false pleasures, of course, but it worked, temporarily)

Result of this day: woke up feeling awful the next day because I overate and had to double-up to catch up on my schedule. Rinse and repeat.

So let's take a look at what my "bad" day looked like this time. 

✔ I followed my regular morning routine and could feel that my energy was off.

✔ I took a look at my schedule and noticed I had something scheduled that requires uber stealth focus, and I just wasn't in that vibe for the day. The deadline was flexible, so I rescheduled it. No drama. If the deadline hadn't been flexible, I would have hunkered down and knocked it out.

✔ I moved on with my day and accomplished the different tasks as planned.

✔ I had a networking coffee appointment, and my afternoon was open after that.

✔ I decided to walk my 3-mile trail (yes, the one that I almost had to be rescued from by an uber only a short a month ago lol). No music, podcasts, books, or anything. Just me and nature.

✔ I always feel better physically and have a clearer mind after exercising.

✔ I finished the evening and went to bed.

Result of this day: felt proud of myself and honored my schedule and woke up fresh the next morning.

Both were "bad" days with entirely different outcomes. Why? Because I don't resist "bad" days anymore. I'm not chasing 100% happiness/perfection because I know it doesn't exist.

I know that to have a fantastic day, I need to know what a shitty day feels like (can't enjoy the sun without the rain).

A bad day isn't really THAT bad until we resist it, think something has gone wrong, and try to numb out by eating, drinking, binge-watching, etc.

We are going to have bad days. We can expect them and allow them to be what they are; the tax we pay for a good day. Expect those too because they are also coming.

We will have more "good" days than "bad" if we allow the bad days because we will spend far less time cleaning up the mess we created by resisting the "bad" day. 

If you find yourself stuck in a cycle of bad day + resistance + self-sabotage + bad day + resistance, reach out to me. I can help you see your situation from an entirely new angle, one that is impossible for you to see objectively on your own. Click here to book your free call.

Machele Galloway is a Certified Life Coach through The Life Coach School. She's based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and specializes in helping her clients manage their time and their minds. She firmly believes that you can't manage one without managing the other. She virtually coaches women nationwide. If she isn't coaching clients, she is studying concepts and techniques. And if she isn't doing that, she's probably playing with a dog somewhere.