Having a bad day can make a listless task such as working on your firefighter promotional exam prep that much harder. Instead of throwing in the towel and giving up for the day, try these steps to turn your day around so you can study and have a better day.
Acknowledge Why the Day is Bad
The first step to turning a bad day around is to figure out why it’s happening in the first place. Take a few minutes to sit with your feelings and figure out why exactly your day is bad. Did you spill your coffee or was it something bigger that needs to be dealt with? This will give you a starting point to turn your day from bad to better. Try not to wallow in those bad feelings, but allow yourself to acknowledge and feel them. If the reason for your bad day is a chronic one, such as a relationship problem, you may need to seek further help to get out of the rut you are in, but you can still get out of it, nothing is permanent. Ultimately, you have decided for yourself that the day is bad, so only you can decide to make it better.
Get Some Fresh Air
A great way to change your mood from bad to good is to just simply go outside and get some fresh air. It’s as simple as enjoying your morning coffee or tea on your front porch or taking a walk down the street. Fresh air has been associated with, “improved attention, lower stress, better mood,” and more. So not only will being in nature make you feel better in your mood, it also will have cognitive benefits that will help you when you study for your firefighter promotional exam.
Accomplish Something
Sometimes when you are having a bad day a single small accomplishment can make it that much better. Whether it be completing a big or small task off of your to-do list, running an errand you’ve been putting off or so on. That feeling of accomplishment, even small, may be the little boost you need to help get your day back on track. That feeling of accomplishment is an excellent source of motivation to keep going through your day and checking things off your list, like your firefighter promotional exam study session.
Nourish Your Body
If you are having a bad day check in with your body. What have you eaten? Have you had some water or are you running on caffeine? If you are not nourishing your body with good foods and drinks your body is not going to feel good. The fuel you put in your body has a major impact on your mood. “90% of serotonin receptors are located in your gut.” Serotonin is a chemical messenger that sends messages between cells in your body that regulate your mood. Eating a healthier diet, avoiding processed foods, sugar fast food, and so on, has been proven to protect against depression. If you want to have a happier, more productive day you must give your body what it needs to accomplish that. Instead of getting another cup of coffee, grab a glass of water. Ditch the fast food for something a little less processed and see how your mood changes.
Ditch The Screens
If you are having a bad day, take some time off away from screens, TV, phone, computer and so on. Sometimes they are unavoidable because of work or just to function in life but take some time and put the screens away even if it’s just a half an hour. Sure those things we find on the screens can make us happy and laugh, but screens are also full of negative things that can ruin your day instantly, and those things sometimes come out of nowhere. For example, you may be scrolling through social media and see a sad news article, or people fighting about politics. Even if you are not involved it can really bring someone’s mood down. So if your day is not the best, try to avoid social media and screens in general. Go do other things that can spark more joy and happiness so you can get back on track to a better day.
The Takeaway
You have the ability to turn your day from bad to good if you want to. If you are feeling like your day has been ruined by something and you can no longer study for your firefighter promotional exam, stop. Think about what is going on and change it. You decide if you are happy or sad. You decide if your day is bad or good. So pause for a moment and remind yourself you are in control and your day does not have to be ruined and get to work studying so you ace your exam.