Having a Bad Day?

Ever have a bad day? Next door’s dog wakes you up for the 84th morning in a row barking his head off at a mouse farting 3 miles away, you slip in the shower, all the lights are red, it’s bloody raining, nothing you are expecting has arrived, you feel as creative as a paving slab, and some idiot is trying to cheer you up.

Sadly for me, that ‘some idiot’ is me! A couple of weeks ago, I was having a bad day. I tried music (didn’t drown out the feckin dog!), yoga (couldn’t be bothered to do more than 2 sun salutes), dancing (not in the mood), getting out of the house (it was bloody raining), shifting myself up the emotional scale (worked for about 5 minutes), looking at my life vision (worked for about 5 minutes), tidying up (do I look like I’m in the mood for fecking housework?), gratitude (yeah, yeah), accepting that I’m in a bad mood and not trying to change it for a while, and watching Blackadder episodes.

Blackadder did work up until I got back to my desk. So lastly, I tried writing about it. And FINALLY, something that works! It largely worked because I was so amused at my grim determination to be in a bad mood and therefore have a bad day! I know that this is my choice, so it begs the question ‘why the f… would I choose to be grumpy?’. After some ‘I don’t bloody know’ type answers, I discover my bad mood was trying to do me a favour.

On the basis that every part of every body has a positive intention, my bad mood was doing its absolute best to get me to chill out and DO WHAT I WANT TO DO. I really didn’t want to be sat at my desk that day, but because I was out with friends later and I had a ‘to do’ list, I felt like I ‘had to’. Nonsense. It would have been good if I had, but the world didn’t end.

And here’s the other element – I hadn’t been sleeping for days, my throat was sore, my head was banging, I was feeling really uncared for. It was a terrible shame for me. The solution? I gave myself a break – did what I have to do that afternoon (2 things), then chilled out for an hour before I went out. Having just made the decision to do that, my bad mood lifted and went away…job well done.

- Something to Play With -

How do you cheer you up? In this article are 11 ideas that I use (and I have another 40 or so!). Make a list of things that make you feel better. And then, when the bad mood hits, remember to ask the question ‘why?’. Maybe that part of you that wants to be in a bad mood has a positive intention for you? Want to share your thoughts on this article? Leave a comment below.

Love

Donna.x

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Gotta do More, Gotta Be More

Remember this poem from ‘Dead Poet’s Society’?

“Laughing, crying, tumbling, mumbling,

Gotta do more, gotta be more.

Chaos screaming, chaos dreaming,

Gotta be more, gotta do more.”

I was listening to something today that made me realise how much I have been trying to push myself to ‘more’ – more work, more hours, more focus, more concentration, more boundaries, getting more done, more, more, more. Sheesh. The irony is that when I am pushed, I push back! It never helps me to move forward when I am being pushed…I just go mule-like and stubborn. A waste of time and energy, and I forget that I am actually utterly fabulous just as I am, just with what I have done.

Where are you saying to yourself ‘gotta do more, gotta be more’? Is it helping you to grow, expand and enjoy your life? Or is it actually shutting you down? What if you could say instead ‘I don’t have to do anything, and I already am everything I need to be’? What if you could give yourself permission to be enough right here right now? This doesn’t mean you will stop and not do anything…but you will be able to relax and enjoy your life more in this moment. Ease the pressure on yourself just a bit, and trust that you are enough just as you are.

Love

Donna.x

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In Praise of Laze

I was talking to someone I coached about 5 years ago the other day, and she reminded me of something I’d asked her to do – get comfortable with, and allow herself to be, lazy. Like so many other things, laziness gets such a bad rap that many of us will work ourselves into an early grave just to avoid being branded ‘lazy’. But laziness has its place…and if you are more type ‘A’ than type ‘zzzzzzzzzz’, maybe this is something you could try out over Easter.

I love a bit of lazing about. I love to relax. I love to be on holiday with nothing to do but walk by the sea, read, eat and enjoy myself. I like to enjoy my life…and if that makes me ‘lazy’, so be it. Am I really ‘lazy’? Well, given half a chance, yes. But the rest of the time, I work hard so I think a bit of laziness can be forgiven. Because there is a lovely balance between laziness and busyness, and a person needs both in their life to be happy.

Think about it – you’ve ticked a thousand things off your to do list – are you satisfied? Oh no, there’s another thousand things to do. Bah. Time for laziness. Get comfortable with, and allow yourself to be, lazy. Laze around, relax, chill out, don’t do something off your to do list (I can hear your collective gasps of horror!), just enjoy a moment of ease. This easter, give laziness a go. And let me know how you do!

Love

Donna.x
PS Happy Easter! May the Easter bunny satisfy your every chocolatey dream! xxx

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Awaken Your Inner Tortoise

On TED I found this talk from Carl Honore, the author of “In Praise of Slow” – one of my favourite books. If you are living life in the fast lane and finding it’s not as much fun as it used to be, watch this video!

Let me know what you think – leave a comment below.

Love

Donna.x

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Chill Out

Time’s might be tough, there may be lots of things to worry about and fret about, but how does that fretfulness help you to survive the tough times? It doesn’t…it makes it even worse. Remember always that you are a resourceful, wonderful human being and you can cope with whatever life throws at you. And if you can relax, chill out, be laid back…the experience will be easier.

Love

Donna.x

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