So you got off on the wrong foot

If you saw the video I published on Tuesday, you could probably tell I was having a bad day. I even admitted it on the video. And this, of course, as always, got me thinking: an article on the subject just demands to get written.

I'm sure you and everyone else in the world have, on one day in their lives at least, got off on the wrong foot or on the wrong side of the bed or whatever other idioms there may be for having a bad day from the start. There might be no rational explanation as to why you're having a bad day. You could analyze it over and over and still not shake the melancholy. Cat videos won't help. Having coffee won't help. You try all kinds of activities that usually cheer you up to no avail.

Not being able to do anything about it is irritating as hell.

While at a situation like this you might think going back to bed and just calling it the day (at 7 am) has to be the only solution, think again. Perhaps you're merely trying to find the solution in the wrong perspective.

Perhaps what you need is not a cheer-up. Perhaps what you need is something constructive to do.

For me, shooting more videos did the trick. Then I also wrote my novel a little, read a psychology book for an hour, did the dishes, organized my home. In the afternoon, the day had turned around - I hardly remembered anymore why I had been having a bad day in the first place.

So if you find yourself getting off on the wrong foot in the morning, start doing something practical, useful, or constructive - even if you don't feel like doing it at all. You can even make a list of the things you should get done but have been putting off, or of the things you usually have to get done during one day. And start executing the list. Start with the task that's easy or quick to complete, so that the wonderful feeling of finishing will kick in relatively soon, encouraging you to complete the entire list.

It just might make your day.

RK