Take your day from bad to fine

Figure out how to change the narrative

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
tip is that sometimes having a good day may not
be possible, But when that is the case, you can

(00:24):
still aim to take your day at least from bad
too fine. This can keep a bad day from spiraling
out of control. Longtime listeners know that I ask my
guests here on Before Breakfast about how they take their
days from great to awesome. The hope is that we

(00:45):
can follow their advice and make our days more awesome too.
But there are days when awesome is just not in
the cards. The best you can hope for is to
salvage a bad day and at least make it okay.
On these bad days, it is helpful to have strategies
for maintaining our resilience. We need tools we can use

(01:07):
to maintain our general sense that tomorrow is another day.
So figure out what those tools are. What is something
you have done recently to take a day from bad
to fine. When I am having a bad day, my
first strategy is to try a reset. This usually looks

(01:28):
like going for a walk outside or perhaps a run
outside if the weather is okay, or on the treadmill.
If it isn't, I often finish in a much better mood.
Another good response is to revisit what you intended to
accomplish that day and adjust. If your plans have totally

(01:49):
fallen apart at ten a m it is fine to
rethink your goals, decide on what is most important and
what you can realistically do. Anything you can't do can
be rescheduled for a future day. When your new goals
feel attainable, you may feel better about the rest of

(02:10):
the day. Since it doesn't feel like a battle to
do the impossible. You can end the day with some success.
You did the two things you had to do and
one bonus thing. When reality exceeds expectations, you feel on
top of the world. Reality didn't change, but your expectations did,

(02:35):
and that is fine. Some people like to treat themselves
on rough days. This could mean taking yourself out for lunch,
or perhaps cutting your work out a little bit short
to free up time to sit in silence in the
steamroom at your gym. Or maybe it's ordering groceries instead
of battling through a crowded grocery store. Bonus points if

(02:57):
you not only get the experience of treating yourself, but
also decide to do so earlier in the day. That way,
you can look forward to it. Emotional support can quickly
take a day from bad to fine. Call a friend
who can give you a quick pep talk, have a
little laugh for a good cry, and talk through how

(03:19):
you can handle whatever is troubling you. Sometimes even a
five minute call can make a big difference. Make sure
you do this for your friends when they are having
bad days as well. In any case, I think it
helps to have a mental list of these strategies that
you can use, rather than starting to collect points of
evidence that this day is irredeemable, which then creates its

(03:43):
own narrative. You can reach for one of your coping
mechanisms a day when you go for a beautiful walk,
call a friend and read a funny book. Just can't
be that bad. It is fine, and sometimes that is enough.

(04:04):
If you have strategies for taking your day from bad
to fine, I would love to hear them. You can
reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. In
the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's
to making the most of our time. Thanks for listening

(04:31):
to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback,
you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.
Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts
from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or

(04:54):
wherever you listen to your favorite shows.