Ever have one of THOSE days? You know, where everything just goes wrong in crazy and impossible ways? Of course you have! We all do because let’s face it — life happens (including all the crazy, impossible, unexpected, completely messed up, perfectly bad timing things that go with it).
It probably seems like nothing will ever go right again. It feels so impossible to overcome all the crazy mess and obstacles that have been put in front of you that you’re tempted to just crawl back into bed and wait for tomorrow. But before you get so stressed out that you can’t even function, try these steps to surviving stressful days!
The Secret to Surviving Stressful Days
#1: Stop and Breathe — Before you get totally stressed out and let frazzle take over, stop and b-r-e-a-t-h-e. Just stop. Do nothing for at least 15 minutes and let yourself calm down. When we feel stressed, our Fight or Flight kicks in and clutters our thinking so as silly as stopping and breathing sounds, it works on a phsyiological level.
#2: Sit Back and Laugh — Find the humor. Like seriously, what are the chances that everything crazy/weird/horrible would happen all in one day (on the worst possible day)? It has to be a zillion to one so go out and buy a lottery ticket! As a good friend once said, “Sometimes you have to laugh, otherwise you’d cry.” If you need a good cry, go ahead, but then laugh it out to reset your stress levels.
#3: Put It in Perspective — Look at your crazy, mixed-up stressful day in the broad scheme of things. How does your day compare to many people who can barely make ends meet or struggle to survive from day to day? Now tally up all the things you have to be grateful for. Remember, this is just one day of many and even though it sucked, there will be many great ones to make up for it.
#4: Refocus on What Matters — Remember what is truly important. Focus on those things first (and if one of them is messed up because of your crazy day, deal with that before tackling any of the other emergencies). Everything else can wait. It might not seem like it at the time, but it can. It always can, even if the label says, “Urgent!”
#5: Carry On — Once you feel a bit more centered and are able to focus on what’s important, keep moving. Nothing gets you out of a funk faster than taking charge of the situation, even if all you are able to do is handle a few of the minor details. Keep on keeping on! Tomorrow will be a better day, I promise!
