We’ve all had a bad day. That day when the alarm clock doesn’t go off, coffee spills on your clean shirt, the bus leaves right under your nose, and, to top it all off, your boss assigns you a report “due yesterday.” And just when you think things can’t get any worse, your partner texts you with a “we need to talk” message. These things happen.
Life isn’t a yogurt commercial where everyone is smiling while strolling through a field of flowers in slow motion. Everyone has a bad day. But what happens when those bad days become routine? When you start saying “another shitty day” more often than “good morning“? At that point, things get serious, and if you don’t take action, that string of bad days can turn into a bad life.
The problem is not the bad day, it’s the accumulation
A bad night’s sleep doesn’t make you an insomniac. An argument with your partner doesn’t define your relationship. It’s a truism—although we sometimes forget it. However, when you sleep poorly every night and arguing becomes your only form of communication, there’s trouble brewing.
When moods are repeated, they become emotional habits. The brain has enormous plasticity, which means it changes, adapts, and creates neural pathways based on what you repeat—whether behaviors or emotional states. So, just as you create the habit of exercising, you can also become accustomed to bad moods, pessimism, stress, and so on.
These patterns usually form below your radar. Driven by the demands of everyday life, you probably don’t pay enough attention until a string of bad days ends up ruining your life.
The problem isn’t having a bad day. The problem is normalizing the emotional exhaustion. Resigning yourself to living in “survival mode.” Thinking it’s normal not to feel like doing anything. Getting used to constant anxiety…
Life is the sum of your emotional habits
Quality of life isn’t measured by spectacular moments, but by your perception of everyday life. The ordinary. The repetitive. What you don’t post on social media. The reason? That’s what takes up the most time. A great vacation doesn’t make for a great year if you hate your routine. Just as a romantic getaway won’t save your relationship if you’re still arguing when you get home.
If every day you wake up feeling listless, spend the hours feeling gloomy or frustrated, and go to bed feeling like you haven’t made any progress, then you’re not just having a bad day: you’re stuck in a life pattern that doesn’t suit you.
Some signs that you’re not just having a bad day are:
- You struggle to find something that excites you, even when you look to the future.
- Everything exhausts you, including what you used to enjoy.
- You react with irritability or apathy to practically everything.
- You feel disconnected from yourself or those around you.
- You live with a constant sense of urgency, but without being clear about where you are going.
- You avoid sitting with your emotions because you “don’t have time for that.”
- You feel like you’re barely surviving, not living.
“It will pass,” the perfect excuse to endure one bad day after another.
Many people don’t want to face the fact that it’s not just a bad day, so they take refuge in rationalization, consoling themselves with a “it’ll pass.” And yes, many things in life happen. Like colds. Like uncomfortable visitors. But emotional distress, when ignored, doesn’t always go away. Sometimes it stays. It settles. It settles on your couch and makes your life miserable.
Telling yourself that “it’s just a phase” without doing anything about it is like having a leak in your house and thinking the roof will repair itself over time. Spoiler alert: it usually gets worse. The emotional sphere works the same way. As Freud warned: “Repressed emotions never die. They are buried alive and will come out in the worst possible way.”
Your life may be truly complicated, or you may be going through a difficult time. No one is minimizing your problems. But it’s about understanding that while pain is inevitable, stagnation is optional.
There are many people who lead very difficult lives, yet they aren’t so bitter. And there are people who, with everything seemingly “resolved,” feel empty. The difference lies in how they deal with what happens to them, not just in what happens to them.
In fact, have you ever wondered if what drains you most isn’t your circumstances, but how you react to them? Sometimes it’s not your job, it’s the pressure you put on it. It’s not your partner or your parents, but your fear of setting boundaries. It’s not your routine, it’s that you’ve stopped making space for what you’re passionate about and what makes you feel alive.
Three practical strategies to break the streak of bad days
I’m not going to tell you to smile more, repeat personal mantras in front of the mirror, or think positively. The solution isn’t to pretend everything is wonderful (because it probably isn’t), but to prevent bad things from taking over and ending up ruining your life.
Some people avoid it. Others deny it. Some anesthetize themselves with social media, food, or work. But few sit down and ask themselves, “What am I doing with this? ”
Therefore, the first step to breaking a string of bad days is to accept that you need to change your strategy because it’s clear something isn’t working. How do you do it?
- The “but” trick. Instead of thinking “today was a terrible day,” try “today was a terrible day, BUT at least I… “. It’s not about denying the negative, but rather preventing it from taking over all the space and ultimately spreading its veil of pessimism over everything. Even bad days have positive aspects. The problem is that we don’t usually see them.
- The power of small changes. You don’t need to move to Bali or quit your job to stop having bad days. Sometimes change starts with the simplest things. If you’re always waking up late and rushing around, have you tried putting your alarm clock farther from your bed to force yourself to get up earlier? If traffic drives you crazy, have you considered listening to podcasts or audiobooks while you wait? Small changes can break the inertia that bad days create, making your routine more enjoyable.
- The 80/20 rule applied to complaints. According to the Pareto principle, approximately 80% of effects or results are due to 20% of causes or factors. Therefore, 80% of your bad mood likely comes from 20% of your problems. Identify those 20% and look for concrete solutions. Let the rest go. After all, you can’t control everything: you can’t control whether it rains, but you can go outside with an umbrella.
Everyone has a bad day. But if it’s becoming the norm, it’s important not to normalize it. Because it’s not normal. Your well-being shouldn’t be an exception. Having a good life doesn’t mean everything goes well. It means knowing what to do when things go wrong. It means giving yourself permission to feel, ask, change, and let go. It’s not about ignoring the negative, but about preventing it from writing the story of your life, day after day.
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