LIVE LIFE UP HIGH

photo credit: bethography – melting mama

THIS DAY SUCKS

Have you ever had a day when things just didn’t go the way you planned them? Have you ever had a week like that? If you have been on this earth for any length of time I know you know what I’m talking about. What do you do when you have a day that is seemingly going down the toilet? I mean you had great plans for the day then something happened that just threw you off of your game. It may have been a small thing or a big thing. Whatever it was, it “messed up” your day.

WOE IS ME

What do you do when you are having such a day, week or month where it seems like things are just not working the way you planned? Do you get frustrated and let the rest of the day, week or month tank? Do you give up and begin to feel weak, worthless and woeful? Or do you start lashing out and blaming others for making your day go south? Or maybe, you don’t blame others but you just put yourself in a bad mood and make others around you feel bad too? None of these responses are particularly helpful. Let me suggest a more enlightened approach that I have found helps me to turn a bad day, week or month around.

S.A.V.E. The DAY

I know, another acronym. Please indulge me. It may seem silly but it is effective for most situations (please realize however, that for major tragedies this may not apply).

S is for Stop

When you have a day that has been thrown off track by some mishap the first thing you want to do is Stop. As soon as you can, stop everything. Many times continued activity will keep you going down a path that is not helpful. Just stop for a moment so you can collect yourself. Don’t worry; you probably won’t have to stop for long. Most times 10 to 15 minutes is all you need. Why are you stopping? I’m glad you asked. That leads us to our next step.

A is for Assess

Now that you have taken a moment to stop it is time to Assess.  You will be Assessing 3 important aspects, your attitude, the situation, your priorities and options.

• Assess Your Attitude

You may not realize it, but your attitude about a situation can determine its outcome. If you are negative, your negative attitude can make a bad situation worse. Also, if your attitude is that of a victim you can empower the problem or mishap and weaken your ability to turn things around. This is why it is important at this point to evaluate your attitude to make sure you are not contributing to the situation.

• Assess the Situation

This is where you ask yourself some important questions about what has happened or is happening to throw your day off. Here are 7 good questions to ask and answer for yourself:

Is this situation really as bad as it seems or is it just my reaction to it that is bad? What is the real damage?

Is there an opportunity here (read my post on 4 ways to Miss Great Opportunities)?

Why did this situation come up? What is the cause and is it a recurring situation?

Is there something I can change to keep this from happening again?

Is this situation signaling a change in my environment that may be prompting me to change how I do things?

Is this something I can delegate to someone else or is it something I can just ignore altogether?

Is this something I should address quickly and move on or does this require an extended period of time to work out?

What are my options to salvage my day, week or month? Which leads us to our next point…

• Assess your priorities and options

Now that you have checked your attitude and assessed the situation it is time to assess your priorities and your options. What goals have you set for this period of time? Given this new situation, are your priorities still the same or do you need to rearrange your priorities? What are your options here? Maybe this is something you can work around.  After reviewing your goals and options it is time to move to the next step.

V is for Vanquish

This step may sound strange but it is an important step. Once you have decided your priorities for the day, week or month you need to evict all the other stuff from your mind. The key to turning this period around is to focus on your priorities. If this situation has indeed changed your priorities then you need to vanquish thoughts of what might have been and focus on the new reality. Also, vanquish that negative thoughts and emotions that could hold you back. . Vanquish all feelings of remorse, guilt, doubt, worry, etc. The key here is to focus on moving towards the priorities you have chosen.

E is for Execute

After you have gone through the other steps now and only now is it time to Execute. Now you will be able Execute with focus and purpose. This is an important because as you get your priorities done, you will begin to feel a sense of accomplishment and will have saved your day.