4 Ways to Turn Your Day Around

 4 Ways to Turn Your Day Around

Every day is a new day, we never know what it holds in store for us. Just like Forrest Gump’s Mother so eloquently¹ puts it “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you might get.” and she is so right.

Some days though, it can be hard to muster² the enthusiasm, we wake on the wrong side. We just can’t find motivation, were surly and cannot help but get annoyed about every little irritating detail.

As you have probably read and heard before, your mood is completely your decision.

Sometimes though it can be very difficult to turn one of these days around.

Here are 4 tips that always help me get back on my feet:

1. Confront the problem

Ask yourself why you are in a bad mood. Often it can be something nagging³ at you that you need to get done that ruins your day.The best thing you can do is to confront the problem and do something to solve it. Once that is done you will feel much better.

2. Tell yourself you will be happy

The concept of speaking positively⁴ to yourself was first introduced to me by Brian Tracy at one of his seminars.

The idea is that the mind can only hold one type of thought at a time, either positive or negative. It can shift quickly between the two but only hold one at a time. By focusing on positive thoughts you force your brain to be positive over a longer period of time which often gets it to stick.

The 2 phrases “I like myself!” and “I am going to be happy today!” are a great recipe to turning a bad day into good.

Make the decision to be happy and you will be.

3. Exercise

Working out is my favorite way to get out of a really bad rut. By breaking a sweat you release endorphins into your body which calms you down. It is natures natural drug.

It also gives you a chance to take out your anger and put it into some good use.

4. Write an “I am grateful for…” list.

If nothing else works I sit down with a pen and a paper and list everything I am grateful for. It can be anything from family, friends, possessions, job, finances, looks, sports, knowledge or/and abilities.

Anything you can be thankful for.

Once you are done with the list you will see that you have nothing to be down about. Life is pretty good.

Conclusion

Your mood and your life are in your hands. It is always up to you how you feel. Stephen Covey puts it well “There is a gap between stimuli⁵ and response where self awareness⁶ and the ability to chose reside.”. Whenever something happens it is your decision if you are going to let it get you down or if you are going to turn it into something positive.

1 eloquently   

adv. 雄辩地(有口才地, 富于表情地)

参考例句：

• I was toasted by him most eloquently at the dinner. 进餐时他口若悬河地向我祝酒。
• The poet eloquently expresses the sense of lost innocence. 诗人动人地表达了失去天真的感觉。

2 muster   

v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册

参考例句：

• Go and muster all the men you can find.去集合所有你能找到的人。
• I had to muster my courage up to ask him that question.我必须鼓起勇气向他问那个问题。

3 nagging   

adj.唠叨的，挑剔的；使人不得安宁的v.不断地挑剔或批评（某人）( nag的现在分词 )；不断地烦扰或伤害（某人）；无休止地抱怨；不断指责

参考例句：

• Stop nagging—I'll do it as soon as I can. 别唠叨了—我会尽快做的。
• I've got a nagging pain in my lower back. 我后背下方老是疼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

5 stimuli   

n.刺激（物）

参考例句：

• It is necessary to curtail or alter normally coexisting stimuli.必需消除或改变正常时并存的刺激。
• My sweat glands also respond to emotional stimuli.我的汗腺对情绪刺激也能产生反应。

6 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。