5 Things To Remind Yourself When You’re Having A Bad Day At Work

You’ve had one before — a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day at work.

Sometimes the day can be overwhelming that you don’t know if you can make it to the end. Other times it can be so bad that you don’t know if you can make it through the week. You want to go home. You want to get laid off. You want to quit.

But when it comes down to it, you’re just having a bad day. Things aren’t usually this bad. And they certainly could be worse. You just have to remind yourself that.

Here are five other things you need to remind yourself when you’re having a bad day at work that will help you make it through the rain and hopefully change your attitude.

1. It’s okay to cry.

It’s not a sign of weakness. If you let the feelings build up, you’re more likely to let that emotion-bomb out at the stupidest time — like during a cat litter commercial or at the mall when they don’t have your size in that sweater you wanted.

You don’t want to be the person everyone is staring at in the middle of the store while you’re having an epic meltdown on the floor and cradling a box of tampons in your hands. Let it out before you get to that point!

2. You wouldn’t appreciate the good times if you didn’t have bad ones.

You might think that’s cheesy, but it’s true. How could you appreciate things being good if you never experienced something bad? Would you really feel as good about the flawless presentation you put together last week if you hadn’t had a disastrous one last time? Or would you even appreciate a good workday where nothing goes wrong if you hadn’t had one where nothing seemed to go your way?

3. You’re healthy.

Hey, you’re healthy right? That’s definitely a reason to cheer up. Seriously. When you’re having a really rough day, always remind yourself that things could be worse. You’re not starving, you have a roof over your head, and you’re probably not one of the two billion people in the world infected with tuberculosis – right? Surely that would be less fun than walking around all day at work with the coffee you spilled on your shirt — even if it was see-through for a little bit. No, seriously. It could be worse.

4. Food is always there for you.

While making a habit of eating your feelings may not be the best course of action, after a particularly bad day, you shouldn’t feel bad it you go home and console yourself with the comforts of what’s in your cupboards. We won’t judge you and neither will Ben & Jerry.

5. This bad day won’t matter in the grand scheme of things.

Is this day so utterly traumatizing that it’s going to impact the entire rest of your existence? Probably not. So someone snagged your sandwich from the break room refrigerator — that delicious one you’ve been daydreaming about all morning at your desk. Does it suck? Yes. Is it worth having a meltdown in the office and running around accusing everyone of being a sandwich stealer? No.

Chances are, you’re barely going to remember this after a few months.

However, you’ll be more likely to remember, and maybe even agonize over, what an idiot you looked like if you scream at Karen from HR for ten minutes for stealing your sandwich — especially because she’s a vegetarian, so she didn’t touch your turkey.

The point is, things aren’t as bad as they seem to be in the moment. So cheer up. Slap a smile on your face and don’t let anyone see you down. You can always have a meltdown when you get home.