Some Bad Bad Days #1
You see that #1 up there? Next to bad bad days? It signifies that this will be a series. Yeah we're gonna be talking about this quite often, because a bad bad day is something that happens often enough to be significant (and no that is not a curse, it is a statistical fact). Luckily though a fact isn't always the truth.
Bad days start off like any other, you wake up, the clouds are in the sky, roots are in the ground, and all sorts of things occupy the space between. But after those initial moments of normalcy, something or a series of somethings happen that throw you off balance and pretty much sets the tone for the rest of your 24hours. It might be something someone says or does (and isn't it interesting? It's never that the Naira is down, or fuel price is up, or that another dozen graves are being dug because of Boko Haram), no, something or someone that pales in comparison to the economy or terrorism trips you up and has you tumbling downhill like Jack. And what do you do? Why you go running after your mood like Jill of course. Your attitude, your ability everything goes down with your emotions, as a man thinks, so is he, his words, his actions and his day.
Now I could go into the psychology of it all; the self fulfilling prophecy; expectation ; perception bias; emotional intelligence and maybe one day I will, but for now, I want to give you a crash course on handling a bad day on a basic level.
(a)Take The Highroad
This is not the time to be acting on your impulses at all. Bite your lips, put your hands in your pocket, do whatever you have to do to restrain yourself from extreme reactions. I'm not saying deny yourself every behavioural expression of your attitude. I'm saying, if you want to cry out in public-dont. I know it all feels so right, but just don't, sigh then pause your lips. If you want to punch a hole through the wall, mildly tap it with your palm instead, let your Bruce Banner go on a rampage, not your Hulk- avoid all extremes and that will ensure minimum damage is done as well as alleviate some of the tension.
(b)- × - = +
It's ironic, but your sombre mood isn't only hospitable to negatives. Rather than reflecting on one misfortune, pair it up with another and see what happens. Let me explain, I was having a bad bad day myself just yesterday, and I did what neuro science and motivational books asked me to do. Put things in perspective, thought about all the good in my life, cluttered up my mind with so much white, that all the dark would be buried underneath. But surprise surprise, it didn't work! I thought about my recent accomplishments, my latest possessions and all the way down to the roof over my head. I mean, there were kids going hungry in Ethiopia and there I was not having the appetite to eat my fried yam, potato and akara delight, what nonsense! (But it still didn't work). I realised then that accomplishments, possessions and privileges are never enough to give us true, stable joy, only the Holy Ghost is. So, even as depression makes you see the futility of life, let it reveal to you the futility of life absent God, which brings me to my conclusion;
(C)Be Selfless
Jesus was having a bad day when he died for your sins. I mean just picture being God in the flesh, after 33 years of enduring the mediocrity of Earth, you wake up and one of your homeboys decides to betray you- with a chop knuckle no less. The Mopo pick you up and deliver you to the corrupt judge. He gives the people the choice to free you, and your fans-the same people that shouted Hossana- become haters and cry out crucify him! And you die for their sins anway, because knowing who you are (King, God), knowing where you came from (Heaven, an eternal Kingdom) considered the lives of others to be of more import. You see, to be selfless is not to think less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less. That is how (rather than catching an attitude like Donald) you trump a bad bad day, do something nice for someone else, preferably someone who doesn't deserve it.
So there you have it folks. #1 of Some Bad Bad days, expect more, and also Some Bad Bad Nights is coming soon #shudders, night terrors.
Bad days start off like any other, you wake up, the clouds are in the sky, roots are in the ground, and all sorts of things occupy the space between. But after those initial moments of normalcy, something or a series of somethings happen that throw you off balance and pretty much sets the tone for the rest of your 24hours. It might be something someone says or does (and isn't it interesting? It's never that the Naira is down, or fuel price is up, or that another dozen graves are being dug because of Boko Haram), no, something or someone that pales in comparison to the economy or terrorism trips you up and has you tumbling downhill like Jack. And what do you do? Why you go running after your mood like Jill of course. Your attitude, your ability everything goes down with your emotions, as a man thinks, so is he, his words, his actions and his day.
Now I could go into the psychology of it all; the self fulfilling prophecy; expectation ; perception bias; emotional intelligence and maybe one day I will, but for now, I want to give you a crash course on handling a bad day on a basic level.
(a)Take The Highroad
This is not the time to be acting on your impulses at all. Bite your lips, put your hands in your pocket, do whatever you have to do to restrain yourself from extreme reactions. I'm not saying deny yourself every behavioural expression of your attitude. I'm saying, if you want to cry out in public-dont. I know it all feels so right, but just don't, sigh then pause your lips. If you want to punch a hole through the wall, mildly tap it with your palm instead, let your Bruce Banner go on a rampage, not your Hulk- avoid all extremes and that will ensure minimum damage is done as well as alleviate some of the tension.
(b)- × - = +
It's ironic, but your sombre mood isn't only hospitable to negatives. Rather than reflecting on one misfortune, pair it up with another and see what happens. Let me explain, I was having a bad bad day myself just yesterday, and I did what neuro science and motivational books asked me to do. Put things in perspective, thought about all the good in my life, cluttered up my mind with so much white, that all the dark would be buried underneath. But surprise surprise, it didn't work! I thought about my recent accomplishments, my latest possessions and all the way down to the roof over my head. I mean, there were kids going hungry in Ethiopia and there I was not having the appetite to eat my fried yam, potato and akara delight, what nonsense! (But it still didn't work). I realised then that accomplishments, possessions and privileges are never enough to give us true, stable joy, only the Holy Ghost is. So, even as depression makes you see the futility of life, let it reveal to you the futility of life absent God, which brings me to my conclusion;
(C)Be Selfless
Jesus was having a bad day when he died for your sins. I mean just picture being God in the flesh, after 33 years of enduring the mediocrity of Earth, you wake up and one of your homeboys decides to betray you- with a chop knuckle no less. The Mopo pick you up and deliver you to the corrupt judge. He gives the people the choice to free you, and your fans-the same people that shouted Hossana- become haters and cry out crucify him! And you die for their sins anway, because knowing who you are (King, God), knowing where you came from (Heaven, an eternal Kingdom) considered the lives of others to be of more import. You see, to be selfless is not to think less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less. That is how (rather than catching an attitude like Donald) you trump a bad bad day, do something nice for someone else, preferably someone who doesn't deserve it.
So there you have it folks. #1 of Some Bad Bad days, expect more, and also Some Bad Bad Nights is coming soon #shudders, night terrors.
Lovely
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