We’ve all experienced it: You’ve planned out a day that is going to be perfect, a day in which you’ll get everything done, and something happens at the very start of it that just ruins that feeling of optimism.
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All you want to do after this poor beginning is to simply go back to bed or park yourself in front of the TV and forget that you ever had any other ambitions for the day. Perhaps tomorrow will be better, but you’ve given up on this day.
This is of course a very poor way of dealing with a setback, despite it happening so early and affecting you exactly when you’re in a fragile state. Just because you started badly doesn’t mean that you can’t finish the race, though. You might even be able to catch up and win it!
Deal With The Situation
So you got up all positive and rearing to go and then stubbed your toe, or realized the breakfast you were looking forward to has gone rotten or saw that your tire has gone flat. This can really cast a pall over your day and send you spiraling into a bad mood. But if you step back and think for a moment, you’ll realize that this is of course not necessary.
All you need to really do at that moment deal is with the situation and then carry on as before. So you need to figure out the alternate breakfast you can make (or pick up on the way) or replace the tire and then keep moving. (In the case of the stubbed toe science has proven that the only cure is to curse loudly and vigorously for several minutes before carrying on as before).
In any case, the best thing you can do is simply deal with it and not let it affect your mood. After all, why would you let something so inconsequential ruin the great day you had planned? That’s exactly the opposite of what you should do.
Meditation
Of course, sometimes it’s very hard to take that step back, to think rationally about a situation or problem. Thanks to stress, tension, or even simply everything becoming too much for you, you’ll lose control of the situation and be unable to quickly reassess and retake the initiative.
These are the times when you really run the risk of wasting the day, when a setback becomes too much to easily handle. In these situations it’s best to walk away altogether, if possible of course, and take a longer moment to collect yourself.
Even better is it to find a quiet spot and meditate for a while and really get back to yourself. By breathing deeply and locking the world out for a bit you will be able to come back to whatever ruined your day and pick up the pieces.
Challenges
The main thing to never lose sight of is that starting your day with a setback is a unique challenge you won’t find in any other way. By dealing quickly and efficiently with these situations you’re making the day even better. Not only did you accomplish what you planned to, you also conquered an awful setback that could have prevented you from doing so.
By changing your thinking about these occurrences you can make it so that they’re nothing more than a way of testing your strength rather than a plot by the universe to sabotage you. So, next time you stub your toe first thing in the morning, realize it’s the start of a great day!
