For the most part, life is pretty awesome, however, real life is designed with ups and downs. You’re running late for a meeting and when you eventually leave the house the car won’t start. Then you finally make it to work only to realise that you’ve left your lunch in the fridge. On the days when you feel like the universe is throwing a tantrum at you one of the key things to remember is one of life’s biggest lessons, things happen for a reason. Don’t try to fight it, embrace these emotions, in truth having a bad day is OK.
I like to think of myself as a pretty positive person, a forever optimist, a glass is half full kind of gal. I’m pretty good at bouncing back from the majority of sh**ty situations and setbacks. Needless to say, trying to be positive all the time can become pressurised and I just want to put it out there that it’s OK to have a bad day. We’re only human after all, prone to mistakes with a multitude of imperfections. Giving ourselves permission to show how we’re really feeling is a positive step in the right direction as opposed to pretending that everything is smelling of roses when in actual fact it’s not even close.
Why is it OK to have a bad day? Well, firstly the world isn’t made up of rainbows and candy floss, sometimes we’re given a raw deal and that’s just life! When these incidents happen, it’s far more advantageous to work through it rather than put on a brave face with a big smile. Acknowledging that a problem exists is the only real way to move on. Facing up to the problem is all part of the healing process that is necessary to help us to eventually get back to brighter times.
Secondly, it’s OK to have a bad day because they happen to all of us! No one is perfect, even the most positive of people will be dealt a bad hand. Sometimes we all get caught up in the perfection that is advertised on social media and really we have no idea about the struggle that occurred before all those pretty pictures fill our social feeds. The number of times that I’ve tried to take a cute picture of my little man! These days it takes about a million takes before we get the ‘perfect’ picture - when really the one’s that end up on the cutting room floor are the most fun. Motherhood and healthy living on social media are prime examples of ‘misleading perfectionism,’ but I think I will save my thoughts on that for an entirely separate post.
Finally, having a bad day helps us appreciate those wonderful good days even more. This may sound crazy, but celebrate the hardships and struggles because these are what have shaped you and got you to where you are today. Show a little gratitude (albeit small!), to the bad days because they make the triumphs in your life feel so much more satisfying.
It’s OK not to smile if you’re in a funk or just having a run of bad luck. Don’t worry if you’re having a bad day, don’t hide it either. There may be someone going through exactly the same thing as you and may appreciate knowing that they are not alone.
In these times, I always try to remember that tomorrow is another day…
This is a great post! I used to feel this way because I am such a positive person most of the time. I felt like I always had to resist bad days and bad moods and keep being this perfect positivity fairy haha. Not only is it not real, it is exhausting! Life is amazing most of the time but there are certainly lots of hardships and things that aren’t so positive. Like you said, these shape us and help us grow. Great post 🙂
So true Lauren! They really do help us grow and give us something to learn from.
I am no stranger to bad days having suffered with PND and I always hide my emotions, none of the family had a clue anything was wrong until eventually I told them. The only place I show my true feelings is at home with my husband. It is so exhausting pretending to be okay all the time.
I can be exhausting trying to be perfect, it’s just best to let it go. Nice to hear you’re in a better place now. 🙂
Totally agree with this! There’s so much pressure for everything to always be “amazing” and that’s just not reality! X
Absolutely! I think there definitely needs to be some kind of movement to promote this.
We’re going through a bad few days as a family. I’ve been trying so hard to keep positive, you gave me a good few angles on how to face this situation
I hope things are looking up for you now. Hugs!
Thanks for this post. Reminded me that feeling down sometimes is completely normal and I shouldn’t beat myself up about it 🙂
It’s totally a normal feeling!
I totally agree with you! Too many people have this idea that having a bad day is a sign of weakness, but it’s just a natural part of life and there is nothing wrong with that.
Exactly! if anything they make us stronger.
When I worked fulltime with co-workers all the time around me, they knew when I had a bad day, cause for most of the time i was quiet. And i didn’t feel bad for having a bad day. I just try not to lash out ofcourse. So, totally agree. Having bad days will make you love the good days even more.
They sure do and I think it’s a lovely perspective to have.
Yea sometimes I beat myself too much when I am having a bad day..Great post Jemma x
Thank you!
Social media has so much to answer for making us feel like we need to be perfect, accomplished, amazing etc. etc. every day. I think it’s all too easy to get caught up in it all and feel crap. I’m glad I didn’t have social media growing up - I feel sorry for teenagers these days!! When I have a bad day I talk it out with the people I love and they bring me back to earth and calm me down.
I can’t even imagine what it’s like growing up with social media. It really does have so much to answer for particular with body confidence and image.