One Mistake Doesn't Define You... 4 Ways To Recover From A Bad Day

 
Recover From A Bad Day
 

I was running up the escalator, heaving my two luggage bags and gasping for air as I struggled to lift them up each step. The entire time I was cursing my upper body strength, or lack thereof since I haven't actually attempted to lift anything slightly resembling a weight since 2013. Still, I was determined to keep going, no matter how much my arms (and now my legs) were growing weary.

I was officially late for my own event. #EpicFail

Once I got to the top, I realized that I wasn't 100% sure which direction to walk in... and I didn't have time to be unsure. My very sporadic memory was failing me, once again. (No surprise there, by the way.)

I started to ask myself... 

Why didn't you leave work earlier? (I scolded myself for being a good employee at my 9-to-5.)
You should've made the event later! (Darn my ability to plan happy hours at a reasonable time!)
Did you really need to spend so much time showering? (Yes, I was really angry at myself for seeking good hygiene... When I'm mad at myself, I'm not exactly logical.)

Everyone's had a day like this, right? 

You know, a day where you had something amazing planned - and something goes terribly wrong. Sometimes, like my situation, it could be something you've been planning for and promoting for weeks and you find yourself running late. You could have been preparing something at work for your team and you completely lose focus in the middle of your presentation. You could've been rehearsing your apology speech to your #MCM in the bathroom mirror for hours and completely forgot what you were going to say when you saw him. (That is a legit example... Your girl is obviously a serious romantic.)

How do you recover from a day from hell?

Pay attention to what went wrong. (Specifically what you did wrong.)

Things will go wrong, but taking time to understand what went wrong can be a huge key to understanding WHAT NOT TO DO in the future. You could even ask for feedback from other people that were present to get different perspectives. 

 

Create an action plan for next time. 

Nothing is worst than analyzing what went wrong and getting feedback from others than NOT TAKING THE ADVICE THAT WAS GIVEN. Why waste your time, right? Once you have an idea of where you could've done a better job, make a mental note. Better yet, make a physical note (like pen to paper or type it up in Evernote) for how you'll handle this situation when you encounter it in the future. 

Drink a glass of wine and watch Netflix.

This is by far my favorite tip to decompress and begin your recovery from a particularly bad day. Diving into a compelling story with twists and turns can be the best thing to take your mind off your personal problems and into a fantasy world. (Bonus points if you're watching a #Shondaland drama because they're the best to make you feel like your life isn't so bad.)

 

Treat the next day as a blank slate. 

Honestly, you can treat the next moment as a blank slate. As an over-achieving/borderline-Type-A (or actual Type A?) boss, it's pretty easy to scold yourself when you're not reaching your own bigger-than-life goals. The reality is... you are human and we all make mistakes.

I ended up getting to my event when it was just starting AND I couldn't figure out how to put the music on. I locked the front door and started to set up. I even enlisted some of the early arriving attendees to help out. Unprofessional? Probably. But once the place was set up, the event was successful and the reviews for the Mastermind were overwhelmingly positive.

The key thing to remember is, mistakes are inevitable and how you handle them is 100% up to you. What's your best tip for recovering from a bad day?

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cyrene is a fun and accomplished workshop facilitator, learning and development guru and Human Resources professional. Being at the helm of Thrive Lounge has been a long-time dream. Through vision board workshops she plans to accomplish two-way learning. Sharing her vast years of knowledge to motivate and encourage others; while simultaneously getting the reward of great energy, ideas and questions to ponder back from each group. A super win-win. Please join our Thrive Lounge community so you too can benefit!