We had a really intense discussion in our office the other day and the question was asked, what do you do when you have a bad day?
(Other than play that catchy Daniel Powter song by the same name)

We had varied answers but what was interesting was that everyone could relate, everyone has bad days. No one is immune from bad days, EVERYONE has them. Everybody. So to figure out what to do about a bad day seems like something we all should talk about.

5 Things You Can Do To Make Your Day Instantly Better

1. Say hi to a stranger

Don’t think it’ll work? Move on to number 2. Just kidding! TRY IT! Usually you’ll get in return a smile and a friendly hello. You never know when that friendly hello will make someone’s day. Don’t assume you know how someone else is feeling, assume you need to make them smile. That’s the secret to feeling better, you’ll feel better once you see

2. Give someone something

You’re getting into some psychology here, when you are given something, you are compelled to return the favour. The psychological principle of reciprocity is at work here. You don’t do things so others owe you favours, you do things for others because helping people makes us feel good.

3. Give a random hi-five!

This one is obvious. How can you not smile when you’re giving someone a hi-five? You can’t, it’s a trick question. Need a pick me up smile in crunch time? Force a hi-five, you won’t regret it!

4. Compliment someone

Telling someone nice shoes, hair, eyes, smile, attitude, anything is better than nothing! But do you know what’s better than a meaningless compliment? A heartfelt compliment. Showing your gratitude is a wonderful way of making you appreciate others in your life. Make a habit out of telling people how you feel about them.

5. Give/get a hug

Now this is the one you want to be careful with, you can’t just randomly hug people. But just like hi-fiving it’s hard not to smile while being hugged. Go on, try it, I dare you! A hug is a universal sign of compassion, embrace, support, empathy, warmth and love. If you don’t believe me, ask Hasan! He’s the best at hugs!

What do YOU do when you’re having a bad day?

We can’t escape them, we all have them. Maybe they’re just in our lives to make us appreciate the good days. Anyway, I hope you have a good day, if you don’t, no big deal, there’s always tomorrow.
Conrad talks about a poem he’d recite on a bad day. It’s called “Instructions For A Bad Day” by Shane Koyczan. It’s a powerful read.

‘Instructions For A Bad Day’ by Shane Koyczan

“There will be bad days. Be calm. Loosen your grip, opening each palm slowly now. Let go. Be confident. what do you do when youre having a bad day Know that now is only a moment, and that if today is as bad as it gets, understand that by tomorrow, today will have ended. Be gracious. Accept each extended hand offered, to pull you back from the somewhere you cannot escape. Be diligent. Scrape the gray sky clean. Realize every dark cloud is a smoke screen meant to blind us from the truth, and the truth is whether we see them or not – the sun and moon are still there and always there is light. Be forthright. Despite your instinct to say “it’s alright, I’m okay” – be honest. Say how you feel without fear or guilt, without remorse or complexity. Be lucid in your explanation, be sterling in your oppose. If you think for one second no one knows what you’ve been going through; be accepting of the fact that you are wrong, that the long drawn and heavy breaths of despair have at times been felt by everyone – that pain is part of the human condition and that alone makes you a legion. We hungry underdogs, we risers with dawn, we dissmisser’s of odds, we blesser’s of on – we will station ourselves to the calm. We will hold ourselves to the steady, be ready player one. Life is going to come at you armed with hard times and tough choices, your voice is your weapon, your thoughts ammunition – there are no free extra men, be aware that as the instant now passes, it exists now as then. So be a mirror reflecting yourself back, and remembering the times when you thought all of this was too hard and you’d never make it through. Remember the times you could have pressed quit – but you hit continue. Be forgiving. Living with the burden of anger, is not living. Giving your focus to wrath will leave your entire self absent of what you need. Love and hate are beasts and the one that grows is the one you feed. Be persistent. Be the weed growing through the cracks in the cement, beautiful – because it doesn’t know it’s not supposed to grow there. Be resolute. Declare what you accept as true in a way that envisions the resolve with which you accept it. If you are having a good day, be considerate. A simple smile could be the first-aid kit that someone has been looking for. If you believe with absolute honesty that you are doing everything you can – do more. There will be bad days, Times when the world weighs on you for so long it leaves you looking for an easy way out. There will be moments when the drought of joy seems unending. Instances spent pretending that everything is alright when it clearly is not, check your blind spot. See that love is still there, be patient. Every nightmare has a beginning, but every bad day has an end. Ignore what others have called you. I am calling you friend. Make us comprehend the urgency of your crisis. Silence left to its own devices, breed’s silence. So speak and be heard. One word after the next, express yourself and put your life in the context – if you find that no one is listening, be loud. Make noise. Stand in poise and be open. Hope in these situations is not enough and you will need someone to lean on. In the unlikely event that you have no one, look again. Everyone is blessed with the ability to listen. The deaf will hear you with their eyes. The blind will see you with their hands. Let your heart fill their news-stands, Let them read all about it. Admit to the bad days, the impossible nights. Listen to the insights of those who have been there, but come back. They will tell you; you can stack misery, you can pack disappear you can even wear your sorrow – but come tomorrow you must change your clothes. Everyone knows pain. We are not meant to carry it forever. We were never meant to hold it so closely, so be certain in the belief that what pain belongs to now will belong soon to then. That when someone asks you how was your day, realize that for some of us – it’s the only way we know how to say, be calm. Loosen your grip, opening each palm, slowly now – let go.”