Ten Ways to Restart a Bad Day (Turning Things Around)

Since my theme for the week is turning, here are ten ways to turn a bad day into a good one (or at least a better one).

  1. Pray for Grace: Right away in the middle of everything else, stop and pray. Even just a sentence “Lord, I need grace, right now.” both asks God for what he is ready to give and reminds us that we are not alone.
  2. Stop what you are doing and sit still and quiet for a moment. Ann Voskamp calls this a Peace Retreat and we all need them.
  3. Refocus: Ask yourself “Is what I’m doing central to my purpose or can it wait for a better day?”
  4. Remember that people are more important than things. Snuggle a child, read a book with them, stop driving so hard if your mood and theirs can’t take it today.
  5. Sing: Singing can lift and change a mood in moments. Even if you don’t feel like it, sing anyway. I like Scripture songs best, but some of the old hymns can really refocus the mind and heart too. There is something about singing “Oh yes he cares, my Jesus cares” in the middle of a trying circumstance that makes it hard to feel sorry for oneself.
  6. Check your blood sugar: Eating as therapy isn’t a good thing but blood sugar does effect mood and mood does effect interactions. If you find that you have trouble every day around 10:30 am you probably need to either eat breakfast, eat more breakfast or plan a protein snack around that time.
  7. Check your fluid intake: When I don’t drink enough water I get very tired, or rather my eyes feel dry and tired and I think I’m too sleepy to do anything. If I drink a couple of big glasses of water I perk right back up. (maybe I’m really a plant?)
  8. Have everyone pick up five things, then sit down quietly with a book for ten minutes while you refocus. Clutter is distracting and makes us feel like we aren’t getting anywhere. Reducing some of the clutter helps tremendously.
  9. Call a friend and let them know how you are doing: accountability is important. Don’t go on Facebook and post something. For one thing no matter how private that feels it’s a very public forum and for another thing it is very hard to feel accountable to words on a screen. Besides sometimes we just really need to talk to another grown-up!
  10. Do something special to redeem the day: Make dessert if you don’t usually, set the table nicely if you don’t usually, do something to make the day stand out not as “a day Mom was grumpy and things didn’t go well” but as a day when Mom showed us that happiness doesn’t depend on circumstances.”

 

What do you do to turn things around?

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7 Responses to Ten Ways to Restart a Bad Day (Turning Things Around)

  1. Keri says:

    I really appreciate your list today. It seems like so many days start out rough and don’t get any better unless I evaluate what’s going wrong. I agree with your suggestions, too, particularly the one about people are more important than things. For me, I spend so much effort and energy trying to tackle my chores and things on my to-do list that I neglect my kiddos, but when I sit down and snuggle them and read to them, things go much more smoothly. Thanks for the perspective!

  2. Jessica says:

    Singing is great! It’s hard to be cranky when your belting out your favorite song. Wonderful, timely list.

    • K_Steinmann says:

      Yes, any song helps. I find that scripture songs, hymns and spirituals do a much better job though as they not only lift our mood but also refocus our hearts. It is impossible to maintain a bad attitude (and many times our bad days are tied to our bad attitudes) when singing in praise…K

  3. melissa says:

    Great, great post. It is very poignant for me right now, as someone who is struggling to bring more peace to my day to day and trying to stop being so negative. I have to remember #1 more. I find myself turning to my faith more and more these days. Thank you for this list. 🙂

    visiting from oh Amanda’s top ten tues.

  4. This is a great list! I will be linking to it on my blog tomorrow which is about restarting your day when you need to. I like #3 on your list. I also love that you mention Ann Voskamp. I have learned so much from her book and blog and I keep trying to practice being more like her.

  5. Pingback: Restart. Repeat as necessary. « Live Wonderstruck

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