You might say, “Today is a bad day,” or “Today was a good day.” What makes it a good day or a bad day?
My guess is that it would be something like this: if your boss was short with you or yelled at you, if your friend skipped out on your lunch appointment, if you remembered that your car insurance premiums went up last month, or if it happens to be raining out, it’s a bad day.
And if your boss praised you and gave you a raise, if you saw your favorite movie, if you are on vacation, if your significant other said, “I love you,” or if you got to enjoy sunshine, it’s a good day.
As normal as this all seems, I think there is a better way. With this normal approach, having a good day or bad day is completely out of your control. It depends entirely on what happens or on what other people do.
High functioning people, on the other hand, have mastered the art of having a good day regardless of their circumstances. Becoming high functioning in this area is simple, though it may not be easy. All we have to do is swap our idea of what makes it a good day.
So what new definition can we use to determine if it’s a good day or not for us? Well, a first step would be to pick something that’s completely in our control. Then having a good day depends only on us. If, for example, you are struggling with depression, a good day might be just getting out of bed. If you are working on your emotional intelligence, a good day might be to identify 5 emotions you experience. Maybe a good day for you is that you just know you are connected and loved deeply by your creator. Or maybe a good day is when you did something that stretches yourself.
Your definition of a good day could even change over time. The component to keep, though, is it doesn’t depend on something or someone out there doing or being a certain way. This way, no matter the circumstances, or what anyone else is doing, you can still have a good day. For example, as extreme as this may seem, you might truthfully be able to say, “My house burned down today, and I had a good day.” Or maybe even, “My mom passed away today. I’m really, really sad about this. I’m grieving terribly, and I’m still having a good day.”
So, let’s revisit the question: What makes it a good day for you?
