how to save a bad day
I don’t think I’ve actually done a real recap of what’s been going on for us so here it goes. Two weeks ago we were prepping our house to list for sale. It went up on Saturday morning and sold Sunday night with a cash offer for $20,000 more than asking price. Because it was a cash offer, our closing date was less than three weeks out which meant that we had to pack quickly and that we’d need to move our things into storage. In addition to this, were under contract on a new house meaning tons of paperwork, inspections and general chaos as well as two weeks of homelessness before we can close and move in. And one thing that I haven’t talked much about here is the fact that we’re also renovating our lake house. I had intended to have that renovation completed by the time it got warm, but once we bought a new house, we realized we needed to finish up construction on that house as quickly as possible so it’s not hanging over our heads. As a result, we’ve been spending weekends there and planning/gathering materials in our spare time. Needless to say, it’s been a little nuts around here.
Monday of this week we had the inspection on the new house. Tuesday I was really feeling the stress + effects of all the physical work we’d been doing since we started prepping the house for sale (a process in itself). Instead of doing what I had planned on doing (mostly packing + getting ahead on blog content), I decided to do what my body needed and rest. It was honestly a great decision. I still got a few things done and by the end of the day felt ready to tackle the rest of my list the next day.
Well, once Wednesday rolled around, it didn’t want to cooperate. I started off the day in a decent mood, but not really my chipper self. We got a series of frustrating news about the inspections and it was one of those days where we were in constant contact with our realtor. By noon, I was thoroughly stressed out and completely out of alignment. And do you know what I did? I tried to push through. I did the one thing I know doesn’t work. I tried to keep going when things weren’t flowing. So here’s how I deal with my “bad” days.
What does it look like to be out of alignment?
Things just don’t go your way. Yesterday I was trying to pack and I lost my only sharpie, ran out of duct tape, and cut my finger within a 30 minute period. I really “needed” to post a blog post yesterday and just didn’t have anything good to say or the drive to get it done. I know that those things might seem like things that just happen, but in comparison, when I’m in alignment those “accidents” don’t happen nearly as much and things don’t seem as hard. Also, I was just generally in a sour mood. I was really stressed out and it made everything seem harder and less fun. The way I think about it, the farther out of alignment you are, the worse you feel. For me that means anxiety, stress and a short fuse are all indicators for being pretty far out of alignment.
What do you do when you’re out of alignment?
So step 1 is obviously recognizing you’re out of alignment. To be honest, sometimes I see it and insist on pushing through, but the results are never as good as if you stop what you’re doing and course correct. Once I decided that my alignment was more important than getting things done for the sake of getting them done, I made the decision to do whatever would make me feel better. For me, that was taking a shower. Even though it was the afternoon and I was waiting to shower til I was done packing, I knew that I would feel better if I took the shower and used it as an opportunity to reset. So I turned on a podcast, showered, took the time to moisturize afterward, sat in my bathrobe for a little while, and did a little journaling. I honestly think making the decision to put your alignment before your to-do list is the most important part. It allows you to look at where you are on the emotional scale and prioritize feeling better. Yesterday, I was able to see that I wasn’t hopeful/optimistic like I normally am and made the decision to get back to those feelings. I wrote a little about my intended outcome for the inspection situation, wrote down a few affirmations applicable to my emotions at the time, and tapped with Brad. By the time I was done with those few things + the shower, I felt much more like myself. It took maybe an hour start to finish and I was able to tackle my to-do list from a much more empowered and energetic place than when I started. And actually, during that hour I came up with the idea for this blog post!
One thing I want to mention is I think a lot of people probably see this process as counterproductive. They think, well you wanted to pack all day and then you just decided to stop packing and do something else so you didn’t get done what you needed to. Here’s my response to that: work done in alignment is much more valuable and efficient than work done out of alignment. Last night I packed what I had intended to pack (and did so in a much better mood) instead of packing what felt easier to pack (which wasn’t actually something that needed to be packed immediately). Yesterday I was working for the sake of working and that means more bumps in the road and less efficiency than if I’m doing the work from an aligned place. You’re almost always more efficient + effective when you’re working from an inspired, excited, happy place than a grumpy, have-to, annoyed place.
Did this exercise turn my day around completely – no. But I didn’t expect it to. It did significantly improve my mood and the quality of my day and allowed me to get on with what I was doing without a ton of issues and obstacles. All in all, I’m much happier and more productive than working from an aligned state which saves me time in the long run – even if it means changing directions in the short term.
