A few days I ago, I wrote about bad days. Inevitable days that pop up and there is very little you can do about it. However, I wanted to share a concept that came to me a few months back. I actually can choose to make today great. Despite my circumstances, despite any stress or pressure in my life, I can actually chose to make the day before me become great. I can set out each morning with a good attitude and decide early on in the day what things would I have to do in order to make today the best it could be. I get to set the criteria for what a good day is. If I decide that a good day today is to do the bare minimum of my habits and then sleep the rest of the day then so be it. That is a good day.
Yesterday, I decided to spend the day with my family just hanging out somewhere cool. I decided in the morning, that if I could do that and not allow distracting thoughts about work or other burdens get in my way then I would consider the day a success. It would be a good day. The point is that you are in control of the definitions and you are the judge at the end of the day. No one else knows what standard you have created for yourself, it seems that most of my hardship has always been sourced from internal angst from some external influence.
Deciding that I was going to make a day great was a big leap forward for me. I stopped using an external measuring stick and started evaluating my own results, setting my own goals and evaluating my progress through my own methods. Now I think it is wise to share some of these thoughts with someone you love and trust, because you do not want to become delusional about your success. For example, you think you are doing an awesome job at something when in reality everyone around you can see the obvious – that you are really just being lazy. However, most the time I have noticed that if I really spend a quality moment of two in the morning and really take a look at what I am doing, or planning to do for the day, that I can tell if I am being effective or not. Being honest with myself and then deciding to change the course for the day based on that internal review was not easy, but that maybe that was first step in gaining control over my day.
So can you change the outcome for a day? Can you start right now? This morning?! Decide that today is going to be awesome. Now work your way backwards. What would an awesome today look like? Now that you know the answer to that question, consider – What do I have to to do today to make awesome happen? This is the thinking that goes into what I call my “365 list” every morning. I write this down in a book and then when I close the book make a mental resolve to go and make the day great. Admittedly, I fail more often than not. Being in control of the daily outcome, however, is strangely comforting. When I am setting the rules, my progress is much more enjoyable. This proactive, forward thinking mentality, essentially taking control over your trajectory is the key principle in learning to act for yourself rather than being acted upon.
So yes, expect a few bad days. However, you should not expect a great day to just happen. At least in my experience, you start having a lot of great days when you decide to make them great.
Guy Reams (393)
365 Alumni
120 Days Left to 1st Marathon
