It’s okay if today was a shit day. Even if people were rude or inconsiderate. Even if things didn’t go how you wanted. Even if you handled things poorly or treated someone else poorly. You still have time to make good decisions today.

What I mean by that is that the game clock never really runs out. You might feel like a day is so bad that there’s no point in trying anymore, but that’s not true. Have a bad day at work? You can still go to the gym, and you probably should. Have an upsetting argument with your friend? Cleaning your apartment probably feels better than scrolling angrily through social media. A car accident can be an excuse for stress eating a pizza, or it can be a reason to call someone you care about because you remember how precious life is.

Good decisions make us feel good. And by that logic, the time you need them the most is when you’re having an awful day. These don’t have to be big, grandiose actions. I surely don’t feel like running a marathon after a bad day at my job. But I know I feel much better if I take a walk outside, send a thoughtful message to a friend, or knock out some chores around the house.

In a sense, we’re giving ourselves a reason to feel good. Life doesn’t always inject Feel Good Juice ™ into our brains. But you can get it yourself with good decisions. And you have time to make those decisions today if you want to feel better. It doesn’t matter how small you start. You get to decide right now if you want to keep feeling how you’re feeling, or if you want to give yourself a reason to feel better.

I’m not saying that you’ll go from deep depression to sunshine and daisies in 5 minutes, but you will feel better. You just can’t give up on today. You can’t say today is too far gone, you can’t say it won’t make a difference, and you can’t say there isn’t time. 

• You have time to message someone “Thank you for being my friend, I miss you and hope you’re doing well”
• You have time to listen to a guided meditation video on YouTube to help you relax
• You have time to fold a little laundry just so there’s less to worry about later
• You have time to journal for 5 minutes just to get your feelings on paper so you understand them better
• You have time to go for a short walk to help you get out of your own head

You have time to make good decisions today. Those decisions will help you feel better, and I want that for you. I don’t want you to feel like the victim of a life you can’t control, and I don’t want you to assume that today is so far gone there’s nothing you can do. You can give yourself a reason to feel better today. You still have time to make good decisions today, and I hope you do.

Wishing you all the best,

Matthew

Further Reading: If this post resonated with you then I highly recommend Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod. This book has changed my life because it showed me how to make a morning routine that created positive feelings on a daily basis. There will always be fender benders and bad days at work we can’t control, but when you build good habits every day that inject positive feelings into your day, it makes it way easier to roll with the punches. Hal’s book has great advice on building those routines, and I owe him a lot for the difference it’s made in my life.