There are days, aren’t there? Days when nothing seems to be going quite the way it was intended to go. Days when the littlest thing sets off a major avalanche of incidents that change the whole trajectory of the day.
It is those days that an attitude adjustment might be needed and I have written a couple of posts previously with some tried and true ideas for turning a day around when it is going south. Today please join me as I share yet another list of ways to make a bad day better.
- Whistle. You don’t even have to be good at it. Just whistle and it automatically puts you in a great mood.
- Play with a pet. If you don’t have one of your own go to the local humane society and play with an animal there. While you are at it sign up to volunteer –that always turns my day around.
- Read poetry. Even if you are not a poetry lover it is fun to explore a new poem and see how it can lift spirits. That is unless it is a sad one. Don’t choose a sad one.
- Do your nails in a fun color or slap on some Jamberry wraps. I love having my nails look fun and even if it takes a little bit of work it is so worth it. Shout out to my “Jamberry dealer” Katy who blogs at Learning As I Go.
- Talk with God. This is an easy and simple one. And the good thing? God is always there no matter what time of day.
- Smile at everyone you meet. A smile changes everything. It changes the people you meet and in turn changes your attitude as well.
- Dress in bright colors. I have a load of black in my wardrobe and I love the versatility of having basic black but honestly the bright colors are more of a pick me up than any black item I own. Bright = happiness. Just do it.
- List your blessings. How can that not be a pick me up? There are so many big and small blessings and acknowleging them is key.
- Find a friend to visit with. The saying is misery loves company but honestly spending time with a friend usually perks me right up when I need a boost.
- Have a dirty chai and read a book. One of my favorite hot drinks coupled with a good book and my day is turned around immediately.
- Change your routine. Change is not always easy but sometimes just mixing up your usual routine can really make a huge difference.
- Focus on opportunities and not the problems. This all goes along with the positive attitude and approach to life and really can make a huge difference. Focus on the positive opportunities and don’t let the problems that might be in your life hang over your head.
- Watch a funny YouTube video. There are a million. Here is just one.
- Walk barefoot in the grass. Perfect solution to a bad day. Let your feet feel the lovely grass and poof–all troubles vanish. Well maybe not all troubles but for a minute it is lovely.
- Eliminate one unnecessary thing from your schedule. We are all so over scheduled and busy. Even though I am not working a job right now I still find that I am stressed out over too many commitments and eliminating just one thing from my week has made me feel so much more relaxed.
Do you have some great tried and true ideas to add to my ever growing list? I would love to read them in the comments section and remember that all comments go to help our June Comments for a Cause.
25 Comments
Leave a commentI find that when I am having “one of those days”, if I just sit in silence and meditate for 15 minutes I can clear away those black clouds. Also, if I am just plain sad, I will force myself to smile. There is a proven connection between smiling and the release of endorphins. It feels awfully strange at first but it works.
That is a perfect suggestion! Smiling is an amazing way to bring yourself to a good place and even just smiling at others makes a huge difference.
Love those nails!! All great suggestions and I use many of them. A couple of things that work for me as well are, playing music I love, loudly. Singing along is even better. (I only do this if I am alone) Also, writing helps me relax when I’m having a bad day.
Music made another one of my lists. And yes–singing loudly ! Always!
Oh, I wish I had this yesterday! 🙂
All great ideas, Beth Anne! I’ll have to remember the whistling suggestion.
For me – if the weather is nice, I find that just getting outside and walking around in my yard helps put me in a much better frame of mind. Even if I’m exhausted when I get home, puttering around outside for just a few minutes just seems to calm me and make everything okay.
Oh yes–your outside view is amazing so I can imagine a quick walk around the yard helps immensely! Except when the critters have nibbled at your plants, right? 🙁
Chai and a book — yes! These are a few of my favorite things! Fun suggestions – thank you.
Thanks for stopping by, Lunar! Great to have you here and to catch up!
My #1 mood lifter is to listen to Christian music on my favorite radio station, KTIS. When a favorite song comes on (The Joy of the Lord is My Strength), I crank up the volume.
Music was on one of my other “lists” and it is definitely the first thing I do –crank up the music and sing at the top of my lungs!
There is one thing that you forgot Beth Ann… Under “Read Poetry” didn’t you forget to say “at poemsandponderings.wordpress.com”? Yeah, I thought so, but you’re forgiven as I have used your platform for a self-serving plug.. Otherwise I agree 100% with your recommendations except for the finger nail thingies.. Oh, yeah, and that ‘have a chai and read a dirty book’ one, I don’t see how that would really help at all!! lol Have a great day anyway you can.
Well at least I got the poetry part in! I need to hop over and visit you…..with chai and dirty book in hand perhaps. 🙂
Good timing on this. I’m going to step outside right now. Thanks Beth.
Barefoot. In the snake infested grass. That is the best way to turn your day around. 🙂
What a fantastic list!! And I especially like those Jams!! 😉 Thanks for the plug!
Jams just for you!
This was just what I needed today. Thanks for sharing these ideas. Counting your blessings always puts things in perspective.
Counting blessings is a huge part of staying positive in my life. If I choose to focus on those it puts things into perspective.
Thanks for the great ideas!
Thanks for stopping by, Jenny! Great to see you here!
I am not much of a whistler, but I do tend to do it while I wash dishes…???? No idea where that came from. One of my favourite things is definitely to put on music. I find you cannot stay in any kind of grumpy or negative or sad mood if there is music playing. But I will be writing poetry and not just reading it. And that’s the biggest: just getting all that “blahhhh!” down on paper and out of my head.
My favourite animal video! “Alan! Alan!!” LOL
I always blast the music as well. There is nothing better to clear the head and the sads in my opinion!
SIL arrived last night. Oh gosh, I need to carry this list around with me for the next 6 days!
🙂 I can send you more suggestions…You might need them.