we all have good and bad days, but what exactly makes a day the best or worst in your life? one’s “best” and “worst” days can often change based on perspective and experiences. it also changes from person to person; my best day probably won’t be your best day and vice versa. although these tips won’t guarantee it’ll be the best day ever, there are a lot of ways it could make your days better.
expect less
one of the key elements to ruining your day is disappointment. if you expect the day to be perfect, you’ll be disappointed in every aspect it isn’t. small things that previously wouldn’t have bothered you that much are now dampening your mood and suddenly you can’t wait for the day to be over. don’t expect too much.
… but be hopeful
being hopeful and being expectant are two very different things that may be easily confused. hopefulness stresses the possibility of good things while expectations demand good/certain things. keep a positive outlook on the day and hope for something good – even if it’s something small or it’s already the end of a long day. you never know what could occur!
small surprises
small surprises are one of the easiest ways to improve my mood, but they’re also not in my control. when i get an unexpected package or letter, my outlook on the day is usually 100x better. the same can be said if the weather is (surprisingly) wonderful, or if i take a (surprisingly) good ballet class, or if i (surprisingly) have some extra time to read. although surprises aren’t something you can predict, you will probably have a more positive view if you weren’t expecting anything and/or were hopeful.
be aware of possibilities – good and bad
although it’s good to be positive, know that not every day will be the best day. you could get that dream job you were striving for… but you could also lose that dream job. it’s okay and completely normal to have some days worse than others, but as sarah j. maas beautifully said in A COURT OF MIST AND FURY: “There are good days and hard days for me—even now. Don’t let the hard days win.”
don’t strive for perfection
this is probably the most important tip of all because there is no way your day is perfect. of course, there are many many ways to contribute in your so-called perfect day but i doubt it’d be a perfect day if you knew it was going to be “perfect;” i doubt everything went according to your plan, and even if it did, i think it’d be a little boring. all of my better days are ones i didn’t plan to be perfect or good. expect the unexpected and go with the flow.
acknowledge the little things
there was a time when i’d make a list of five things that made me smile that day. the list would be something like:
- a stranger opened the door for me.
- i had a delicious breakfast.
- i completed most of my daily goals.
- i saw an old friend i haven’t seen in a while.
- someone gave me a compliment.
none of these are really extravagant things, but simply taking the time to acknowledge the little details can change your definition on a “good” or “bad” day.
about the book
Publication Date: August 2nd, 2016
By: Macmillan
GOODREADS • AMAZON • BOOK DEPOSITORY
Ellie is having the worst Monday of her life. She messes up her school speech for the
class vice presidency position, she manages to take the world’s worst school picture,
she bombs softball tryouts, and the icing on top of this awful cake: her perfect
boyfriend who is in a high school rock band dumps her. At the end of the day, Ellie
wishes she could redo everything. When she wakes up the next morning, she discovers
that it’s Monday again! She has six more chances to redo the day in the hopes of having
everything go exactly the way she wants. But in the process, she just may find out that
what she really wants and what she actually needs are two very different things.
about the author
Jessica Brody is the author of several popular books for teens, including the
Unremembered trilogy, 52 Reasons to Hate My Father, and The Karma Club, as well as
two adult novels. She splits her time between California and Colorado.Find out more at
jessicabrody.com. Twitter: @JessicaBrody
This is really great advice, Xan! I honestly love it when you write posts like these, haha. What you wrote about being hopeful and expectant is so true! <3
I love this. It is such a cute and nice post. Thanks for sharing!
Nice post!
Really like how you wrote this post in such an original way!
thebookishamateur.wix.com/laurasbooks
Laura.