Turn Your Bad Day Into Your Best Day Ever

It's Friday morning and you can't wait for the weekend to come. Nothing has gone right this week. Your boss is pressuring you on a deadline, your best worker quit and your wife is upset with you for working so many hours. Even your children have complained. Basically, you are in a bad mood!

The key is to not let circumstances, people, and events dictate your mood and day. I know, that is a tall order and not always easy to do. But here are a few tips to help you start the day well or even turn a bad day around...

1. Be grateful. Start your day with verbal recognition of a few things (small or big) that you could put on a grateful list. Rehearse the blessings. Today, I am thankful for a good night's rest, children who are healthy, a job that I like, etc. If you begin your day with blessings, your mood tends to stay positive.
    
2. Acknowledge the good. Give attention to the positive things that happen. Because I am trained (as a therapist) to find problems, my focus easily dwells on problems. Doing this brings my mood down. When I focus on what goes right in my day, my mood improves. Here's a recent example: I had to fly to Maine for a family emergency. I was able to get a last-minute flight that didn't break the bank. My connections worked. I saw God's hand get me to where I needed to be. Even though I was dealing with loss, I saw God move on my behalf.
    
3. Verbalize appreciation for the people in your life. We may think positive things about the people around us, yet not tell them. Verbalizing your praise, appreciation, and even fondness for others will lift your mood and theirs as well. Take that same idea into your workplace. Praise your coworkers, your boss, and others when you appreciate something they do.
    
4. Finish this sentence, "The best things in life are free including…" I hope you thought of the unconditional love of God and His grace. Those two should make your heart soar. Changing a bad day to a good one has to do with learning to be content no matter what life throws at you. If you appreciate what you have, notice the blessings, and focus on God's goodness, your mood will change.
    
5. Renew your mind with God's truth. So often in the Bible, God speaks of renewing our mind because we can't control all our circumstances. We can only control how we respond to difficulties. And our response has to do with the mindset we have. We can stay in the victim mentality, blaming others, or we can grow and learn. Look for God in the midst of hard situations. Keep your eyes on Him, not your circumstances just like Peter did when he was walking on the water towards Jesus. The second he took his eyes off the Lord, he started to sink. When we take our eyes off the Lord, we can sink into a bad day.
    
6. Believe! God causes things to work for our good, even the bad things that happen in a day. The Apostle Paul challenges us not to lose perspective when times are tough. He had a number of bad days in prison. But he remained hopeful for a better day when he would be with the Lord. He rejoiced in all his circumstances. To be content means trusting God completely.

Jesus turned the worst day of his life into the best day for us. His sacrifice on the Cross gave us eternal life and peace with Him.

We can wake up in the morning and feel eternally grateful for His sacrifice. So, turn your bad day into a better day by reminding yourself that God is for you, a help in trouble and will work all things for your good.