There are bad days, and then there are really bad days, maybe even rising to the level of your worst day.
We can probably separate worst days from bad days based on the impact that the day will have on your life.
For example, on a bad day the damage is usually limited to today or no more than a next few days.
But a worst day is one of those days and will have a negative impact on your future, and maybe even for the rest of your life.
No matter how bad your day is – even if it turns out to be your worst day – here are 11 things you should never forget:
1. If You’re a Christian You’re Sealed For Eternity
Even as Christians we can easily forget this reality. No matter how bad life gets, God has sealed us for eternity with Him, through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. A really bad day is an excellent time to remember that. What happens in this life is certainly important, but we also need to remember that were being prepared for eternity. Along the way, it’s important to remember that this life is very temporary:
“Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” – James 4:14
I purposely used the King James version of this verse because it’s more poetic and really makes the point. It’s something to remember any time you’re having a dark day.
2. Prayer Is Your “Hotline” to the Creator of the Universe
No matter how bad your circumstances are – no matter how hopeless they may seem – you’re never alone. And there’s always a first, best option – and that’s prayer.
Prayer isn’t just meditative reflection, it’s quite literally conversation with God, the Creator of the universe. He who has created the universe can fix anything within it that’s broken, and that includes your life and your problems. God is bigger than your problems, even bigger than the entire universe. Reflect on that, they get on your knees and pray. God will be listening. Start by praying for peace, and go from there.
3. You Matter to Somebody
Often the reason for a worst day is rejection by someone who we consider to be very important to us. It could be rejection by a person who you have been hoping to date for a long time. Or it could be a breakup of a long-term relationship, and even a marriage. When such an event happens, it’s very typical to believe that we are alone, and maybe we’re even unlovable.
None of that is true. If you have family and friends, then you matter to somebody – you’re loved by other people. Never minimize that, even in the face of rejection by someone you consider to be very important to your life. We need many people in our lives, and they’re usually just waiting for us to call on them.
4. You’re Not Perfect – And That’s OK
Often the reason for a worst day is when something major goes wrong, and it’s your fault. Accept responsibility, and do what you can to remedy the situation.
And then move on.
You don’t have to be heartless or unfeeling to do this either. The reality is that you’re not perfect, and neither is anyone else. Perfection is one of those things that’s always expected, but never provided. That’s because human beings can’t deliver it – it’s not who we are or what we do. You don’t have to be perfect, and that’s absolutely okay.
5. Money Problems Are All Relative
Many times the reason for a worst day is a financial situation that got out of control. It could be the job that you didn’t land, the promotion you didn’t get, or the deal that felt apart. But whatever it is, the outcome is unlikely to be terminal as far as the rest of your life is concerned.
More important, when it comes to money, we always have to put things into perspective.
Statistically, 80% of the world’s population live on less than $10 a day. If you live in an industrialized country, chances are you’re living on a lot more than that. Learn the difference between struggle and survival, and realize that survival is rarely the real problem.
And struggle? That’s mostly a temporary problem.
6. Tomorrow’s Another Day
No matter how bad today may be, tomorrow will offer a shot at redemption. In most bad circumstances, the worst occurs at the very beginning. That’s when our emotions, and in particular our fears, are in control and making things worse than they really are.
But as the days pass, you’ll have time to put the situation into better perspective. Once you do, you can begin rallying yourself for the next push forward. And that’s exactly what you need to do. Life is too short to ruminate on our problems; forward motion is usually the solution. Trust in God, trust in yourself, and trust in tomorrow. No matter how bad today is, you’ll have a lot of better tomorrows.
7. The Ability to Make a Living Is a Under-estimated Blessing
Since a bad day is often tied to a work-related situation, this is something you really need to put into perspective. If you have a really bad day, if you’ve been passed over for a promotion, if you hate your job and today just made it more obvious – or even if you lost your job – there is a silver lining here.
The fact that you have the ability to earn a living is a true blessing. Even if you’re not where you want to be in your career, or you’re not making the kind of money that you think you should, you’re still able to earn money to finance your life – no matter how inadequate you think that is. With millions of people around the world literally foraging for survival, that ability is no small blessing.
8. You Can Make Changes Based On the Bad Experience
It is possible to turn nearly any negative situation into a positive one. Maybe that won’t happen overnight, but the seeds of progress in our lives are often sown during bad experiences. For whatever reason, we seem more motivated to make major changes in our lives when bad things happen than when were tooling along and life is good. Be prepared to capitalize on that arrangement – it’s real.
The bad experience might be beyond repair – so be it. Your response should be to convert all of that negative energy into positive, creative energy. Whatever happened that caused the problem, resolve that you will move toward a solution – a permanent solution.
If you can, that worst day can turn into the best day of your life. It works out that way for a lot of people.
9. If You Have Your Health You Really Do Have Everything
In an almost dismissive way, we often say at least I have my health as a backdoor admission that everything else in our lives has gone down the drain. But you need to turn that around.
If you do have your health, then you have everything you need to go forward and to make the kind of progress that will put a worst day deep into your past.
Try imagining that you’re having this worst day at a time when you also have a serious health condition. How much worse would this day be?
Good health should never be underestimated as a blessing. If you have it, then you’re in a position to fix what’s wrong in your life. It should never be dismissed lightly.
10. What Ever Happened, It Could Always Be Worse
No matter how bad things are right now, it really could always be worse. That isn’t just a cliche. And it’s not negative thinking either – it’s a matter of developing a healthy perspective.
If you just lost your job, but you’re single or married with no children, compare yourself to a divorced woman with three children who has been out of work for over a year. Suddenly your situation doesn’t look so bad.
If your boyfriend or girlfriend dumped you, compare yourself to a homeless person who has been cut off from everyone in his or her life.
If you just lost your home to foreclosure, compare your plight with that of a person who is doing a life sentence in prison – possibly for a crime she didn’t commit (Yes, that does happen).
If you didn’t get the promotion that you’ve been working on for the past three years, compare your situation to a soldier who is doing a tour of duty in some hostile corner of the Middle East.
Is your situation really that bad?
11. This Too Shall Pass
Net nearly every bad situation we encounter will ultimately prove to be temporary. Even though it never seems to be the case when it’s happening, that’s usually how it turns out. Think about all the other times you’ve had a worst day, and then think about how it ended up. You survived those episodes, and you’ll survive this one too.
A good question I heard and have learned to ask myself on my many worst days is will this matter in six months? If on reflection, it won’t, then you need to downgrade your latest worst day to just another bad day – then be ready to move on to better things.
How we view events in life has a major bearing on how they turn out. If you’re a Christian, you need believe this. We’re the children of hope, and there’s always hope, no matter how bad things look right now.
Do you ever reflect on these when you’re having a really bad time in your life?
