Bad days. We all have them, right? Sometimes a “bad day” can be as simple as waking up to a rainy day (and, for those of us who take public transportation into work, this can be the cause for a bad start to the day at least!) or it can be as bad as… well, no need to go there. We’ve all had those bad days.

I had a bad day on Monday, which got me to thinking about how I handle bad days. Some days, I succumb to the bad day and let my mood totally ride on it. Granted, this doesn’t really make me feel better (wallowing in self pity and being just a generally grumpy person), but sometimes it’s hard to realize that the world is not ending because of a bad day.

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Other days, though, like Monday, for instance, I try to see the “silver lining” in my bad day. So I broke the heat in my apartment and have to pay almost $900 to get it fixed (yikes. Writing that out certainly doesn’t make it any easier to swallow)… big deal, right? Money comes and money goes and in the grand scheme of things, breaking my heat is a much better “bad day” than others I could think of. No one got hurt, no one got in trouble, no one lost anything (well, besides my money). Things could be a lot worse. I’m not going to say I didn’t dwell on this and cry (ok, I cried a lot), but I tried to accept my mistake, look at the big picture and move on.

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As I did this, I got to thinking about ways I try to make myself feel better when I’m having a bad day. I thought I’d share them with you in case you’re having a bad day and could use a reminder that things will get better!

1. Get my sweat on! Without fail, when I am having a bad day, a good sweat sesh will always make me feel better. Even if it’s just during the workout, I’ll take it! Working out helps me clear my mind and sometimes push all of my negative thoughts to the back for a bit. Endorphins released during working out are a wonderful, wonderful thing.

2. Call my mom, dad or sister (sometimes all 3). Pending on what is bothering me determines who I call. Heat issues? Sorry mom, dad was way better at making me feel better. Stress/schedule issues? Yup, mom is the person I call because she ‘gets’ it. Boy issues or any other type of issue I might be having? My sister. Sometimes it’s nice to just vent and cry and let it all out and know that the listening ear on the other end isn’t judging and isn’t thinking that I’m a crazy person.

3. Grab drinks with friends/significant other (if he/she is not the cause for your bad day! 😉 ). As I said earlier, it’s often times easier to succumb to a bad day and wallow in self pity and avoid interactions with other people, but if you can force yourself to get out, you’ll be glad you did! Not only does it help get your mind off of whatever is bothering you, friends/significant others can generally relate to your problem and help make you feel better.

4. Participate in “retail therapy”… aka, go shopping. Even if you don’t buy anything, again, going shopping gets you out of the house and that right there helps to increase your chances of getting out of your bad mood. On the other hand, buying yourself a little something to pick up your spirits is never a bad idea 🙂

5. Treat yourself to a manicure and/or pedicure or a massage. I love when I get to treat myself to one, both or all of these because it’s the one time where I am force to sit, relax and read trashy magazines… or, do nothing at all. It’s also a good time to reflect on the situation at hand that has put you in a bad mood and figure out how to get OUT of that bad mood; to accept the situation for what it is and move on with a more positive attitude.

6. Dance. Crank up your favorite jam and dance! In your underwear if you want to… no one is judging you and I can guarantee it will make you feel so much better. I was talking to my mom earlier this week and she was talking about her favorite dance class and she said that she is so happy as soon as she steps into that class and she always leaves feeling great.

It’s funny because just re-reading through those “get happy” suggestions makes me feel better. I hope I remember to come back to this post next time I have a bad day.

Bottom line, it’s important to try and take a bad day for what it is, accept it and move on. It takes so much more energy to be angry/grump/upset then it does to be happy, so next time you have a bad day, I challenge you to turn your attitude towards that bad day around and try to focus on something GOOD about your day. Mmm, k?

Questions for you: Do you wallow in self pity when you have a bad day and act as if the world is ending? Or, do you try to look at the positive and make the situation better? What is your “go to” when it comes to making you feel better when you have a bad day?

What’s going on this weekend? I am working then babysitting today, teaching tomorrow, quick day trip to Maine and then coming back to MA for a gym friend party. I hope to get prepped for my upcoming Dallas and Chicago trip on Sunday. Have a great one, friends!