Yesterday was a day from hell.
Sorry for being blunt, but there’s no sugar-coating it.
Do I try to be optimistic about every situation and challenge I face? Absolutely! But yesterday, I was faced with the realization of just how difficult that can sometimes be.
To be completely honest, my life is nothing short of a blessing. I have more than I need, I am blessed with the most amazing family in the world, and during a time of madness, my life has stayed relatively normal.
Still, though, I am human. Not every day is going to be a good day no matter how hard I try to make it one. There is a time and a place for everything, and yesterday, I just needed to feel my emotions and let them go.
If I were to be completely honest, I couldn’t even tell you what was wrong or why I was feeling the way I was. Some day, I just simply feel “off.” These are the days where I normally just keep myself away from people because I know that at any given moment, something could set me off. We all have our weaknesses, and this is one of mine.
It started with work. Yes, the job that I am blessed to have during a time where so many are without one had become the catalyst behind a shitty day. I logged on and was immediately hit with technical issues. As soon as I got those resolved, various other distractions kept grabbing at every bit of my attention. Slowly but surely, my fuse was burning.
Early afternoon I started feeling the effects of a bad morning. I couldn’t stay focused on one task, I was starting to get a headache, and I was just coming to a wit’s end.
Then (let’s just top this off since I am already this far into my day) I got a call from the world’s NICEST lady. I say nicest with only the utmost sarcasm. She called wanting my help with something, wouldn’t let me speak, and when I told her I am just trying to help, she called me an asshole and hung up the phone.
Apparently I wasn’t the only one having a bad day.
Some Days You Just Need To Feel Your F*cking Feelings
So what does this have to do with you? What good is listening to my sob story going to do for you?
Well, a few things actually.
First, no matter how hard you try, there are going to be days where you simply just aren’t feeling it.
You focus on one bad thing, and the next thing you know, more bad things keep stacking on top of each other until your day is shot.
This is why I personally believe it’s important to emphasize a positive mindset first thing in the morning. Had I focused on the good instead of letting a small little technical issue ruin my morning, who knows how the rest of the day would have followed. But it probably would have been better than it was.
Second, there are going to be some days where you just need to feel your f*cking feelings. You aren’t perfect and not every day is going to bring sunshine and butterflies. There are going to be days where you just feel lost. Just recognize these days and try to manage your emotions as best as you can. Don’t act like they don’t exist, because when you do that, they will only grow.
Find an outlet to release your emotions and just feel your f*cking feelings. Maybe reading about my bad day isn’t going to benefit you in any way at all. But you know what, it’s feeling pretty good for me. Sometimes we just need to let go and release ourselves from our own burdens.
What Helped Me Overcome A Bad Day
Writing this and reflecting on how poorly I handled my day yesterday is actually putting a smile on my face and making me chuckle. This smile and laughter is bringing happiness to my life today! But the thing is, regardless of how I felt yesterday, I wouldn’t change it. I felt the way I did because that’s just who I am. And despite feeling a different way now, I have been able to learn from my mistakes and hopefully become better as a result.
I can’t say that these things helped to turn my day around entirely, because they didn’t. But they did help me to feel slightly better.
Try Meditating
Have you ever tried meditating when you’re incredibly pissed off? It’s actually pretty fun. You would think that it would be helpful, at least I didn’t think it would be. But I tried it as a last resort, and oddly enough, it’s the one thing that seemed to help.
After a rough day at work, I went outside, sat under the hot sun, and turned my headphones on to listen to a guided meditation. Mind you my head was still pounding from a headache, it felt good to close my eyes and let my eyes wander. I had been trying to fight my feelings all day, so to let them out felt good.
Be One With Your Thoughts
Yeah, yesterday sucked, but sometimes we just need to accept how we are feeling and allow ourselves to just feel. I try to be a positive and optimistic person, but had somebody tried to instill positivity and optimism in me yesterday, I promise you it wouldn’t have gone over all too well. I will admit that there are times where I try to force myself to feel a certain way, but yesterday, there was simply no stopping how I was feeling. I just had to accept that and move on.
Don’t try to hide your emotions. You are human, allow yourself to feel different emotions and think different thoughts. The more we try to bury our negative thoughts in the back of our minds, the more we feed into the power they can accumulate.
Don’t fight your emotions. Be you and feel the way your body and mind are telling you to feel.
Get Some Sleep
Oh man did I need some sleep. I am the most miserable person to be around when I don’t get enough sleep, and yesterday was proof of that.
Everybody needs sleep in order to optimally function. If I don’t get 8 hours of sleep per night, I get a headache, I tend to lose my temper, and overall, I just feel flat out miserable.
On days where I feel the way I felt yesterday, it’s probably because I am overly exhausted. I know myself well enough to know that if I am feeling this way, I need to call it an early night and get some extra sleep. That’s what I did last night, and guess how I feel today? Like a damn rockstar, thank you very much!
Before You Go
Everybody is different, but we all have feelings. When you are feeling a certain way, the best thing to do for yourself isn’t to try and fight your emotions – it’s to feel your emotions, manage them to the best of your abilities, and give yourself some extra slack.
And since I am also one who tries not to focus on the past, I am reflecting on the past right now because it’s doing me good, allowing me to release my thoughts, and it’s helping me to feel better about today. None of us are perfect, but there are some days you just need to feel your f*cking feelings, and that’s alright.
Michael Bonnell
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