6 Ways to Cope When You’re Having a Bad Day

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - April 14, 2014 - PRLog -- “Don’t get to High on the Highs or too Low on the Lows.” That was one of many phrases my first sales manager would teach me.  My sales career began at New York Life – the premier life insurance sales training program in our area.  Working there was similar to scenes out of Boiler Room or Glengarry Glenross.  Despite the high pressure intentionally created to quickly weed out those who would not make it in sales, my very aggressive, micro-managing sales manager acknowledged that every so often, we would be the victim of Murphy’s Law.  Everything would go wrong and it would be out of our control.  We’d lose a sale, have an underwriter deny a pending application, a prospect would change their mind or perhaps they wouldn’t be home when we drove to their house for a kitchen table sale, etc., etc.  In an industry where 80% of what goes on around you is negative and you have to talk to people about the fact that they just might die and leave their family on the street, resiliency and having a thick skin is key to survival.

The fact of the matter is that we all suffer a day like Alexander in the children’s book, Alexander and the Terrible Horrible, No Good, Very-Bad Day.  His final blow arrived when his mother served him Lima beans for dinner and he says “I think I’ll move to Australia!”  We have to keep in perspective though that life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you react to it.  There is several things you can consider when everything seems to be going wrong:

1. Begin with and Keep the End in Mind – is this obstacle or setback you are presently experiencing going to change your final planned goal? If the answer is “No” then Let it Go.
2. What can you LEARN from this experience and can you implement a system, policy or procedure to prevent you from finding yourself in the same bad place again in the future?  Remember, making the same mistake over and over while expecting a different outcome IS the definition of insanity!
3. Are you reacting to a situation with a hot temper, sarcasm or worse yet – procrastination and/or avoidance?  Two things to remember here: First – you catch more bees with honey.  Second, Confrontation is nothing more than a collision with the truth.  Dealing with obstacles in a calm, logical, honest and assertive manner is far better than giving someone else a bad day, or leaving people hanging in the wind.
4. Can you shift gears?   Try working on a different project or if you are able, call it an early day.  Sometimes when you are pushing against the Universe instead of going with the flow, the Universe is bigger than you and will continue to give you more of what you don’t want.  My overbearing sales manager would tell us to take the rest of the day off and go catch a movie.  It was permission to exhale the negative and come back to work the next day refreshed with a better attitude.
5. Stop reliving the story over and over by telling everyone about it.  It absorbs too much energy to relive the negative events of your day and it spoils the present.  When you see your significant other at the end of the day and they ask “How was your day?” try to give them the 20 second version, not the 20 minute version of your bad day.  I promise it will change the energy and put you in a better position to shift gears and be positive.
6. Take a walk outside.  It might sound silly, but walking outside allows you to not obsess on yourself and your problems.  It allows you to be more aware of your surroundings, people, music, wildlife, scenery, etc.  Exercise and fresh air will do more for your brain power to attack your problems with renewed energy and perspective than a coffee, Red Bull or cocktail.

Nothing stays the same forever.  If you are having a bad day, try not to let your bad day become someone else’s.  Those around you will marvel at your resiliency and grace in difficult situations.  It also demonstrates leadership, stability and credibility.